Longing for Love
by Misty-Nala
Summary: After Edward faces troubles with Hughes the boy feels he can't stay with him anymore and so Havoc takes him in. Hughes/Edward parental, Havoc/Ed brotherly. Chapter 7 Finally up!
1. Chapter 1

**Longing for Love**

**Pairing: **Hughes/Ed parental, Havoc/Ed brotherly

**A/N:**First of all, yeah, I'm not dead. Due to the poll that was on my page and a total of two persons answered, you'll see this chapter first. Any kind of suggestions and comments are welcome. I'm a very critical person so you better tell me whether the story idea is good or bad. And please tell if this writing style is okay!

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing of FMA, and after this chapter you will be sure of it.

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**Longing for Love**

"Thanks for the ride, Havoc", Edward said from the backseat and the driver just waved his hand.

"No problem, Boss. Couldn't have you get all wet."

"Yeah, sure", the boy shrugged his shoulders knowing that was not the reason the man had offered to take him to Hughes's where he was now staying for a while. Yet, he had to admit; it was raining cats and dogs outside, The sky was grey and it wouldn't be a miracle if it started to thunder.

But inside he knew there was something else in there also. Havoc was his personal chaffeur, always driving him to places because he was just 14 years old. No one would give him a driving license, State Alchemist or not.

Ever since he had become the member of the army he had got to know a lot of people- Havoc was one of them. They had got along pretty well right from the start. They were both from the East and so had some things in common. Within the time the two of them had started to spend time together outside work. Usually the office guys went drinking every Friday but he couldn't go along (damn his young age!) so he and Havoc had created their own past times.

"Hey."

Edward blinked his eyes and saw the Second Lieutenant's blue eyes looking at him amused.

"Did you fall asleep?" He asked his cigarette popping with every word.

The boy shook his head and smiled. "No, it's just that-"

"You intending to wait here until the rain stops?"

"No, you idiot!"

Havoc smirked and watched how Edward opened the door closest to the house he was going to.

"See you tomorrow!" He called and heard Edward respond "See ya" before the door closed.

The man didn't drive away yet but watched after his young companion making sure he got to the house without any problem. When seeing the front door close he turned on the engine.

Edward put his hood over his head as he got out of the car. After farewells with Havoc he closed the door and ran as fast his legs could carry him. Soon he realised it was no use; he would get wet anyway, the rain was far too heavy.

Soon he got to the door and put his hand to his pocket to look for the key. Soon he found the bronze coloured item and opened the door. Once he got inside, he breathed heavily and leaned against the wall.

"Ed", Gracia walked to him. She was wearing a green dress with a white woollen jacket. Her brown hair was carefully combed.

"Go quickly change your clothes", she offered her hands to take his red jacket,"or you'll get cold."

The boy obeyed and hurried upstairs to the bathroom, leaving water trails without his will.

The bathroom was a spacious, white tiled place. On the left side, there was a toilet seat and right next to it a sink. There was soap on the counter and all kids of bottles and equipment in the glass- door cabinet right on the top of it.

On the right side there was a shower and at the end of the room a large bathtub. It had a tap also.

Plus there were towels hanging on the racks.

Edward took, or more like peeled off his clothes and put them on the floor. He shivered with the cold and with his hands across his chest in an attempt to warm himself up, he turned on the shower. Once the water was almost in it's maximum heat he drew the shower curtain to it's place.

Someone knocked on the door and Hughes walked in carrying clothes.

"Here, put these on", The man said and lowered his load onto the toilet seat. He wore a purple shirt and black trousers. The dark hair had been drawn back to keep it in some kind of order.

Edward glanced at the man behind the curtain shampoo decorating his hair.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Was it fun bowling?" Hughes asked smiling amused as the boy continued showering.

"Yes", the water was turn off a little bit that the man could hear his answer. " It was very fun!" The same enthusiastic voice said.

"Who won?"

There was a slight pause, in the voice and the movement behind the curtain it seemed.

"We decided to make it tie."

And the shower was turned on to it's full power.

Hughes nodded and shook his head; he knew very well that Edward had lost.

"Take your time", he turned to the door and left. He had learned not to announce his every thought and observation of the boy out aloud.

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Edward was already in his fresh pyjamas and drying his hair with a towel. The golden bush, as his hair could be called, was out of its usual braid and in beautiful locks.

"You look like a princess."

Edward turned around and noticed he had come to Elysia's room. Walls were painted with light pink and the room was decorated with a drawer, bookshelf and a beautiful doll house was on it's special place on the table. The girl herself was sitting on her white bead, surrounded with dozens of multicoloured stuffed animals, twisting something in her hands. She had on her pink pyjamas.

"You say that again and I'll tickle you", he repeated calmly. He knew he couldn't hurt Elysia, because he didn't want to and Hughes would kill him if he did. He had had to make up new ways to try to keep the girl in control.

Elysia just laughed. It was then Edward noticed what was on the girls lap. His heart turned into a cold lump and dropped to his stomach.

"Elysia", he raised his voice and stretched his hand towards the girl. "Give me that thing."

"But it's so pretty! Can't I-"

"Give it here!"

In a second the boy snatched the silver watch from the girl's grasp. Elysia still held her hand in the same motion as it had been a moment before and her lower lip began to tremble. The green eyes filled with tears.

_Oh uh, _Edward had time to think before the little girl jumped down from her bed and ran downstairs, crying for her mommy. Feeling guilty, the boy looked at the item that had caused the quarrel and decided to return it to it's original place.

He walked to the guest room. Now that he stayed there every time he visited the Hughes's family it was actually called 'Edward's room'. Alphonse wasn't so eager to get new parents and so preferred to stay with Rockbells during their holidays.

Just when he had put the watch to his leather trousers's pocket, he heard Hughes calling him:

"Edward, come downstairs!"

"I'm at it again", the boy muttered to himself but stood up and walked down the stairs to meet the rest of the people.

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In the living room, sitting on a purple couch, Gracia held her crying little girl in a consoling embrace. Edward sneered in his mind at the sight. In his regular state he didn't find the picture sweet or peaceful at all.

"C'mon, sweetie", the woman said to Elysia when the boy appeared to the room. She stood up keeping her hold steady. "We'll go to bed now."

As she left, Hughes patted the place on his left hand's side and the boy sat down.

"So", the man leaned back on the couch his hands crossed on his chest. "Tell me what happened."

Edward repeated the whole incident like it had happened in reality. After he had finished, the man sighed, shook his head and looked at him.

"You know she is still small", Hughes explained calmly. "She doesn't understand."

"But does that mean she can take my things?" Edward stood up in a split second. The man on the couch, however, didn't seem to care of the teen's temper.

"Of course it doesn't mean-"

"Doesn't seem like it!"

Edward looked at the man defiantly, anger clearly visible in his eyes. He knew children weren't very eager to obey but why did their parents never say anything to them? Yeah, he had to do all kinds of things like take the rubbish out and hoover, but Elysia was all a different matter. To him, it seemed like it was enough that she walked all by herself and played.

"Edward", Hughes's voice was commanding and the boy started to walk away. He didn't want to hear anymore about how he was wrong and should control his temper. He had had those lectures more than enough.

The boy heard the man stood up also and walk after him, neither of them was willing to give up. "Children are curious-"

"Like I didn't know that!" The teen turned to face the man raising his voice even more.

Hughes had no need to do so: the anger and frustration in his eyes was enough.

"Don't interrupt me! Nothing happened, the watch is alright. It isn't broken or anything."

"But could have been! Why don't you ever say anything to her! You're not a parent! You are just playing around her-"

It all happened in a second. The frustration from the day's work, the blaming of her daughter and the handling of the ever pissed 15- year-old, all those pressures burst out in one simple movement.

He slapped the boy, hard, across the left cheek with his right hand.

Edward made a little noise, but then grabbed his cheek and just stared at him. Hughes immediately noticed what he had just done and brought his stinging hand to his mouth in shock. The boy stared at him with pure fear in his eyes.

"Ed..." Hughes whispered once he got the control over his voice again. He made an attempt to get closer but Edward's eyes filled with tears as his legs automatically brought him further.

"Edward, I-"

The boy sniffed and ran away.

"Edward, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

The boy didn't stop his running. He hurried upstairs, didn't notice Gracia approaching him, slammed the door shut and sealed it with alchemy.

On the other side Hughes reached the door and tried to open it.

"Edward! Open the door!"

He got no answer. He twisted the door handle but it seemed to be stuck, like rocks held it in place.

Hughes tried to his knifes also but they had no chance against the creation of the youngest State Alchemist.

When all his attempts turned out to be no help, the man collapsed to his knees against the door, pressing his forehead against the light brown wood, tears trailing down his cheeks.

_What had he done?_

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A/N:So, did you like it? Tell me what you think and what I should improve. And if you want you can go and see my account and tell me what story seems interesting. I'm a talkative person!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Happy New Year! Here's the chapter two! I've tried my best with grammar but don't expect too much. This chapter mainly focuses on the relationship between Edward and Havoc.

Enjoy!

It was an early morning. Air was fresh from the rain and the sky shone with light blue colour.

Birds were singing which was unusual at this time of the year.

Edward walked in the streets of Central in his usual outfit. The hood of the red jacket was drawn up to cover his face. His cheek hurt badly and the cold air wasn't doing much good. He had bathed the area of his body with his damp towel last night but now nothing could cover the pain and he felt like crying all the time.

_How could Hughes do something like that?_

He really respected the man and thought of him as father- figure. He and Hughes got along pretty well, not including his outbursts that had come more regularly now that he had reached puberty.

Didn't the man love him anymore?

The boy sniffed and looked at the high block of flats. It was white and each apartment had a balcony some of which were decorated with flowers or outdoor garden tables and chairs.

He walked to the outdoor and pressed the button on the wall hearing a noise, the same kind of they use in phones.

"Havoc." The man's voice sounded like coming through the phone. Edward took a deep breath and tried to hold back his emotions.

"It's Ed, may I come in?"

The door opened immediately and the boy went through the hallway. Pressing the other button, he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, waiting for the elevator to come.

Havoc was at the door waiting for him. He wore jeans and a black t- shirt that showed off his muscles. The boy saw concern written all over his friend's face.

"What are you doing here this early?" Havoc asked as he got out of the elevator and gave him way.

"Wanted to talk to you", Edward took of his hood and revealed his face. Havoc nearly choked in his saliva when seeing the purple bruise. When the hell had _that _happened?

"C'mon, I was just making breakfast."

That was all he could say.

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**Chapter 2**

Havoc knew Edward was a stubborn person. When he set his mind to something it was almost impossible to turn his head. Same came to secrets. When someone told him something, Edward would treat the secret like his greatest treasure. Not only did he keep his mouth shut but also made sure others wouldn't slip anything.

When he hurt himself he didn't whimper or anything, just kept going because life had taught him not to mourn over little things. Life was too short to be wasted worrying. He had other, more important things to ponder.

That rule didn't match with the situation Havoc was now in.

Just as soon as Edward stepped inside the apartment, tears started to leak from his eyes. Now that he had someone dear to him nearby all the feelings broke loose. He had spent last night in his room, not let Gracia or Hughes in although those two had nearly broken down the door. They had been so worried.

Now he had the consolation he had longed for.

Havoc guided him to the couch and sat him down. The boy kept his eyes closed, crying heavily.

"Does your cheek hurt?" The man asked earning a frantic nod. He walked to the kitchen and took a clean wash cloth from the cupboard wetting it with cold water.

He sat down beside Edward and drew him close, holding the cloth on the swollen cheek.

Edward grabbed his black t-shirt not even trying to calm down. Havoc didn't say anything; just let the boy cry and held him close, trying to make the boy feel safe.

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...

Edward slept on the couch in his side. Havoc was drinking coffee by the table looking at the kid worriedly. Among all the incoherent muttering had been the truth of what had happened.

He couldn't believe it. Hughes was a calm person. Sure, he had temper and when he got angry it was a serious matter. The man had hit earlier, Havoc knew that much, but that he had hit a child...

But more than anything he was worried about how Edward understood the situation. They hadn't got a chance to talk about the incident much but what he had heard revealed pretty much of the boy's thoughts.

"_Hughes hates me", Edward whimpered still holding the man's shirt. Havoc shook his head and stroked the hair gently as sobs erupted from the tiny form in his arms. _

"_I'm sure that isn't it-"_

"_Yes, it is!" The boy claimed tears running down his cheeks. His eyes were red and puffy as he looked at the man. "Why else would he have done it?"_

"_I'm not sure", Havoc tried to explain although he didn't know the answer. "Sometimes a person just snaps, like Colonel does. One doesn't have to have one certain reason."_

_It didn't help much; Edward slumped against the man exhausted, still sniffing._

"_Did you get any sleep last night?"_

"_Not too much." _

_Truth to be told, he had slept properly only for half an hour._

_Havoc took the cloth from the boy's cheek and stood up the same time he laid Edward down on the couch._

"_No wonder you're so shaken up. You need to rest to sort out everything in your head."_

"_What do I - hic- need to sort out for?" The boy cried as his friend took a red blanket from the end of the couch and covered the boy with it. The man lifted the golden haired head and put a pillow under it. _

"_For yourself. Everything will be better after you've had a bit of rest."_

It was now almost two o'clock in the afternoon. The kid hadn't shown any signs of waking up in hours. He just laid there curled up like a cat. The boy usually slept in that position no matter where he was. It was useful for he fit in smaller places like that.

As if to prove man's thoughts wrong, Edward started to moan on the couch and finally sat up. Hair was partly out of it's braid and flying to every direction.

"Well hello there", Havoc smiled and the boy turned to look at the man. Edward rubbed the sleep out of his yellow eyes all the while yawning.

"Did you sleep well?"

"As well as one can when sleeping on old furniture", the boy replied wearily and slumped onto one of the chairs and put his head to his hands, eyelids all the whileabout to drop.

"You want something to eat?" The man asked not staying put to wait for the answer but stood up and began to gather things to the table from the fridge and cupboards. Soon there were bread, sausages, bacon, eggs, vegetables, butter, orange juice and all kinds of other breakfast ingredients on the simple light brown table.

Edward sighed with half-open eyes and reached for the doughnut with his left hand. He tore it in two part and began to chew the other.

Havoc watched this, partly amused, partly worried. He knew Edward wasn't actually the morning person but he never refused when someone offered him food.

"Not wanting anything else, huh?"

"It's your own fault you're such a mother hen."

The answer was simple and said in a monotone voice. There was no real emotion in it, it was just a statement. Usually the same would have come from the mouth of a self- respecting teen, not this hollow figure that was sitting by his table, eating his food.

He really needed to get to the bottom of the situation.

"So", Havoc started, pouring orange juice to a cup for the boy to drink. "What are you going to do?"

Edward took the drink and gulped down a bit of it, licking his dry lips. "I'm not going there anymore."

"Ed, we all make mistakes-"

"Hughes hit me, I think that's more than a mistake."

"Okay, okay", the man rose his palms to calm down the other. He rubbed his forehead a bit and tried to think of anything clever to say. "What Hughes did was wrong, I admit that, but remember that he's always been very nice and everything. He has never done any harm to you!"

"But now he did. If one hits once, they will hit again someday."

Edward was repeating the same thing over and over again. The conversation clearly wasn't going anywhere because the kid had decided to stick onto his view of the whole situation. His stubborn attitude came to surface once again.

Havoc shook his head disappointed , frustrated and what else: "There's no that kind of saying."

"Okay, I changed the old one but the idea is the same."

"But it is not a rule of life!" He was desperate to try and get the kid understand. "Think of you and Al, you tried Human Transmutation."

There was a piercing silence. Edward stared at the older man, his almost older-brother figure who he respected and admired, with anger in his eyes. No, anger wasn't strong enough: there was every kind of emotion in the depths of the golden eyes. Every single moment before, during and after the greatest mistake of his life was now visible in the gaze that was directed to the Second Lieutenant in front of him.

Two head- strong persons stared at each other, keeping a tight hold of their own right to say what they thought.

"That was a low blow", Edward's voice was quiet and suddenly all too full of pain for a fourteen- year- old.

"No, it wasn't . You committed a taboo and learned from it. I'm quite sure you wouldn't try Human Transmutation anymore now matter what happened. You and Al experienced too much pain, and Hughes feels pain too for what he did. "

Edward tried to protest but found no words to do so. Finally, he gave up and lowered his head, sorrow filed eyes hidden by his bangs.

Havoc clapped himself on the back in his mind. He wouldn't have ever thought he could come out with something so effective to silence the young alchemist. Maybe he wasn't so simple minded after all.

"But..." The voice was so quiet he barely heard it Havoc leaned forward, putting most of the weight in his upper body on his crossed arms. The small boy continued his sentence, voice sounding like something was strangling him. "I still don't want to go there."

Tears glinted on the boy's face. The man didn't know if he should hug the boy, let him be alone, or just stay there and be quiet. The order to stop crying false tears crossed his mind also but he let it be. Truth to be told, he wasn't sure if Edward was actually crying. It took a lot to get the boy reveal his emotions and somehow, the hardest task for him was to let someone see salt water leaking out of his eyes.

But if the tears were real this time, he should feel honoured that Edward trusted him enough to let him see him at his most vulnerable state.

Havoc licked his lips tasting coffee on them. Man, he needed a cigarette.

Taking an opened pack, he took out a orange- white coloured stick and lighted it. Once he had had the first lungfull of the much needed calming smoke, the idea in his mind was ready to be pronounced.

"Well, then you won't go there for a while. But you need a place to stay."

Edward lifted his head, glittering eyes filled with relief. There was no triumphant or mischievous smile on his face. The boy was just happy that his opinion had been understood and respected.

"So", Havoc shrugged unsurely, he wasn't sure which of them should say the suggestion out aloud but he was ready to save the kid from pitying himself even more. "Would you like to stay here for some time?"

"Here?" Edward asked confused. Havoc swore in his mind. Why couldn't people just accept the kind offers that were given to them.

"Here, here. A nice, peaceful area, great view, close to Headquarters, I only have one bedroom but you can sleep on the couch if it's okay", He acted like a sales assistant who was trying to get the customers to buy a house, waving his hands everywhere to ensure the boy. Sure, his apartment was on the ninth floor, and the neighbours were nice but Edward knew that already. The thing was to get the boy feel like he could spend there more than one or two nights.

"Your couch isn't too bad", the boy shrugged giving the man a hint of a smile. It wasn't near as bright and cheerful as usually but in the current situation it was enough for Havoc.

The man nodded, grinning widely. "Then let's get started. "

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...

The newspaper on the table was untouched. The only things that got the man's attention were the kitchen window and the clock. It was half past six already.

Maes Hughes shook his head and sighed. He had gotten a call from Havoc in the morning so he knew there was at least one thing less he needed to worry about. Edward was fine and safe but in pieces.

He was also.

The black clothes he wore matched the mood he was in. If someone had sometime said to him he hit a child, he would have just laughed. He loved children, everyone knew that! And Edward was special to him. Who would have thought that a boy who always caused trouble and was difficult to handle would become so dear to him that he would be ready to sacrifice himself for him? The path of the fate was full of strange things.

Having Edward in his life had given him more than he could have ever imagined. What a way for him to thank the boy.

"Maes", Gracia came to him with a plate full of potatoes, meat and vegetables. His wife had a habit of making a bit more festive dinner at Sundays. "You should eat something."

He shook his head, looking out of the window. "I'm not hungry."

Just thinking of Edward's eyes after he had hit him was enough to make him lose his appetite. He could never imagine what kind of fear the boy had felt when a person dear to him had acted like an enemy. Thinking of the first two seconds after the incident made him feel sick to his stomach.

It was all his fault. Hughes had noticed that after reaching puberty Edward's tantrums had come more often; they weren't big ones but having to deal with a lot of smaller ones was tiring.

Elysia was difficult sometimes also but he had never even thought of hitting her.

Did he think of the children differently? Weren't they equal in his eyes? These were the two of the questions he had thought about the whole day.

And none of them had been answered.

"Maes", he lifted his head at the mention of his name. "Havoc is here. "

In a second, Hughes stood up from his chair and hurried to the front door. He was about to open the front door when insecurity got a hold of him. What would happen if he opened it?

Would Havoc punch him? Maybe but he could take it.

Would Edward come inside and tell him how much he hated him? That was likely but the boy said that to everyone in one point.

What ever came there he would have to face it like a man.

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Havoc looked at the back of Hughes's dark haired head and stayed quiet while walking to the kitchen. Edward was upstairs gathering what he needed

Hughes turned to the cupboard and Havoc clearly saw the man dry his eyes. The man felt bad about everything he had done and would no doubt give anything to change the path of the fate.

Once he had collected himself somewhat, he turned to Havoc, his eyes were red from holding back tears. He held two pill bottles.

"These are Ed's medicines. Listen carefully because this is important."

The man showed the slightly bigger bottle. "He has to take these one before breakfast to an empty stomach. And these", he now showed the smaller bottle ," one in the morning and one in the evening."

Hughes opened the bottle. "These should be enough for some time. The prescription is here if he needs more."

Havoc nodded and took the bottles. He knew that the smaller bottle was for Panic Attacks. Edward had been diagnosed with a slight Panic Disorder about a year ago. The name of the sickness sounded horrible but to him it had been a great relieve to finally know why the boy acted so unlike himself in oppressive situations.

"What is this other for?" He asked. He didn't remeber seeing it. It had to be new for Edward sometimes spent nights at his house and he had made sure the boy took his medicine.

Hughes was just about to answer when Edward came to kitchen

"I'm ready", The boy answered holding his much used suitcase. Yellow eyes were reddish also and he barely looked at Hughes.

Havoc just nodded and took the bottles.

"Okay, let's go then."

"Ed Nii-san!"

Elysia ran to the adults and looked at her older brother with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry I took the watch. Please don't go."

Edward's pained look disappeared and he smiled at the girl comfortingly but his eyes still showed weariness.

"I need to go away for some time, Ellie."

"When will you come back?" Tears began to gather Elysia's eyes. She didn't understand the situation. The only thing that entered her mind was that he was now going to be alone with her parents. During her short life her big brothers had left many times for missions but this was something different.

Edward kneeled to the girl's level. It seemed strange to him that Elysia was more worried of him going to Havoc's than missions. When he went to look for Philosopher's Stone there was always a possibility that he wouldn't come back alive.

"I don't know."

"Please stay! I'll be good! I promise!"

"This has nothing to do with you Ellie", Edward shook his head, memories from an already dead girl returning to his head. He hugged the Hughes's daughter fiercefully.

Havoc and Hughes watched them from distance both feeling guilty. Seeing the little girl's sorrow was something that made the whole situation seem even more serious.

How they both wished this was just a bad dream.

"Okay", Havoc finally broke the moment and walked to the front door. "C'mon now, Ed."

The boy let go of the girl slowly and stood up. He walked to the man, took his jacket and left the house without looking back

...

...

If Havoc thought that everything would be easier once they made it to his place he was wrong.

It was already midnight and he was almost asleep on his bed, on his back and wearing a loose white T-shirt and black slacks. The moon lighted the room with it's dim light.

"Havoc...", There was a tiny voice next to him. He turned towards it and opened his eyes.

"What's it?" He asked sleepily. Edward bowed his head wearing blue pyjamas. He looked a lot younger than his age like that.

"I- I can't sleep. Can I please sleep next to you?"

At first he thought the kid was kidding and was about to reject the request but after thinking a bit he thought differently. After all, the kid had had a pretty rough day and was no doubt still shocked about everything. Besides, this was nothing like the times when Ed spent a night at his apartment.

Usually they were happy, ate something good like pizza or hamburgers and would stay up late telling jokes. This was nothing like those times.

And he had to admit that Edward looked utterly adorable standing there like that.

He sighed and waved his hand towards the bed.

"Okay", Havoc said and the boy smiled gratefully while landing down. "But for this night only!"

The man gave him a pillow and covered him carefully. Edward turned onto his right side facing Havoc, smile still on his face.

"Hey", The boy whispered. "You know why I like to be here?"

"Why?"

"Because you're so nice", Edward crawled next to the man curled up against him. "And this is the only place where I really feel like someone cares about me."

And the boy drifted to sleep.

Havoc rolled his eyes frustrated and patted the golden haired head with his left hand.

Man, the boy was going to be a handful!

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A/N: So, once again, reviews are more than welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone! Now that I finally had time after the exams I uploaded the new chapter. This was pretty difficult to write and some might notice that I used a different kind of writing style. Lets see if this brings more reviewers or just makes the old ones to go away.

And some of my reviewers told me about one grammar mistake I made in both chapters. I checked it and they were right: Finnish and English have different rules. But when you write in English, use the English rules. Thanks for those two who pointed out the error and if you still find something, please tell me. Reviews are a wonderful way to learn!

Don't own the chapter or the characters: just the plot.

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**Chapter three**

The mess hall was crowded. People with different positions were sitting at the tables, alone or companied by others, eating stuff that was supposed to be chicken soup.

Hughes sat on a chair leaning his head onto his left hand. His right hand held a spoon which he whirled in the lunch unenthusiastically. The yellow-green eyes were dull, an emotion no one could connect to this man.

"I just don't know how long I can hold up with this case, Roy," Hughes said quietly like all the happiness was gone from his world. " This is the hardest case I've had in ... well... long time!"

A snort esaped from his body as he looked away to somewhere distance next to him.

"Or maybe I'm just getting old."

Mustang shook his head. His lunch tray lay in front of him intact. All the attention he could spare was directed into his friend and his troubles. His arms were crossed on the table, no gloves were on.

"I don't beliave it. You're just 29."

"I'll be thirty next month," The older man glanced at the Flame Alchemist from the corner of his eyes. When getting no response, Hughes put down the spoon and threw his hands slightly in the air.

"Well, what does it matter anymore? Ed has moved away because of my violent attitude and I can barely be home because I'm afraid I'll hurt Gracia or Elysia."

"You're being ridiculous!" Now Mustang felt like he could punch the man straight into the face to get some sense back into him. During those three days that Edward had been staying with Havoc, he had sort of become Hughes's personal therapist. Sure, he was willing to listen to his friend and offer some support but after listening for three days of the same thing over and over again, he had pretty much had enough.

And by what he had heard, Edward seemed to be just as stubborn with his own vision of what had had happened.

Maybe those two were more similar than he had noticed.

Hughes didn't startle or anything, just turned his head to fully face the man on the other side of the table.

Mustang went on with his talking: "You must understand that Ed is away temporarily. It's not like he has gone to another country."

He waved his hand to the table about three rows away from them. Edward was sitting there in his regular clothes with the office guys and Hawkeye. All of them had lunch trays infront of them but no one, except the boy, seemed to be eating.

The sight didn't affect Hughes much. He just went back to his lunch and took a spoonful of the soup, calm as anything and not caring about anything. Mustang grimaced inwardly and, as if by a reflex, pushed his own tray further and out of his eyes.

"He might have as well gone somewhere," Hughes started his gaze back in his lunch. "He won't even look at me! The whole time he's been sitting there on that table he hasn't even glanced at this way."

Now he was a bit amazed; Mustang knew his friend was the top of the Investigations Unit. By what he had heard from the Higher ups, Hughes could expect a promotion sooner or later. Now he was supporting the thought 110%: by what he had seen, Hughes's gaze had been either on him or the lunch.

But on the other hand, Hughes could just be guessing.

Whatever the reason, the situation had to be solved- the quicker the better.

...

...

...

At the same time, Edward was enjoying his lunch while others on the table sent weird gazes on him.

Apparentally they thought the food was not something that humans could eat.

He eyed the table while filling the spoon with the yellow- orange soup and noticed that no one else had barely tasted the main food. That had to have something to do with Breda's comment. The man had claimed immediately after sitting on a chair that food looked like it had been made while the chicken was still alive and in full clothing.

Edward smiled amused and snorted at the memory. He couldn't be fooled so easily.

Seated on the other side of the table, Havoc glanced at him, leaving his conversation with Hawkeye.

The man's left arm layed on the table supporting the weight of his upper body, and his eyes showed that the man wasn't interested about why he had left the sound but felt it was his responsobility to know.

Edward muttered 'nothing' bowing his head a bit and filled the spoon again. He was about to put the spoon to his mouth when he noticed something floating in the liquid.

"Hey," He leaned closer to Fuery who left his attention from watching the conversation of his two higher officers to look at the boy who was, ironically, also higher in the hierarchy than him. "What is this?"

The short, bespectacled man took a fork from his tray, where ever he got it Edward didn't know, and lifted the small object. He showed the fork to Havoc, Hawkeye and Breda, all three of them leaning closer to get a good look of the strange thing.

Havoc, being raised in the countryside, recognized it first.

"It's a feather," he said eyes wide. He would have never thought Breda's tale was actually true!

The answer was enough for Edward. The boy pushed the tray hurriedly away from him, towards Havoc, as if it was something covered with milk.

"I'm not eating anymore!" That was everything he could say while being in shock.

Falman snorted and shook his head while reading the newspaper.

"This isn't funny!" Edward said to the oldest of the group. "I could get a food poisoning!"

Just as Hawkeye commanded him not to talk so loud Falman looked at the boy as if noticing he was there.

"I wasn't laughing at you.I was reading the comics."

The boy blushed and turned away.

"Hey, the carneval is being held again!"

"When?" Havoc asked interested. By what he had learned, all kinds of festivals were the best places to find women and take them to.

Falman scanned the announcement with his eyes and finally found the date.

"Next Saturday."

"Now is Thursday," Hawkeye put in. "They're quite late announcing this."

Breda waved his hand. "They've had those ads everywhere. That wasn't the first one. "

"Carneval," Edward said as if tasting the word looking at the ceiling. "Isn't that the thing where people dance in the streets and there's magicians and everything."

"Have you been in a carnival?" Havoc asked not sure what to expect. Edward shook his head now turning his gaze to the man.

"We had something that was called carnival in Rezembool but I guess those two can't be even mentioned in the same sentence."

"You mean those events where there are competitions in milking cows and-"

"Yeah."

Others looked at the pair. They understood what they said but didn't have the same experiences as those two. Edward and Havoc surely had something much deeper in common than anyone else of them. The boy and the man had gone through the same things when moving to Central City: the losing of strongly tied country community, the loneliness and all the inventions that were everyday in the place they had gone to. That was why they understood each other better than anyone else.

...

...

...

It was a sunny day. There were a lot of people gathered in one place. They were all there celebrating the end of the autumn and the beginning of winter.

Holding a cotton candy in his left hand, Edward looked around the area he was in. Clothed in his regular working/ travelling clothes because of the chilly air, the childhood enthusiasm filled his heart as he saw all those machines, games and entertainers.

Havoc looked at the boy and smiled amused as his companion decided to walk faster than he did.

He was genuiely happy about the time the carnival had decided to set place in. Heaven knew the boy needed something else to think about. He had to admit that Edward had become easier to handle as the days went by. The first night had been the most difficult; the boy had had a pretty vivid nightmare and kicked him in the thigh. A couple of centimeters to the right and he could have said goodbye to his family jewels.

"C'mon!" A voice broke into his thoughts and the man walked towards the boy who had stopped and turned around. "This is here for only one day!"

"I know," he said and snatched a handful of the water- sugar combination and rolled it into a ball.

"I've been here before, Ed, and trust me, I've never missed anything."

"But this is my first time! I'm young and impatient!"

Havoc sighed and gave in. He lifted his hands as a sign of surrender.

"Fine, fine. Show the way."

They visited every single device excluding the baby ones. That day, Edward experienced his very first rollercoaster ride, screaming with delight as the speed of the cart made him feel tingling in his stomach. Havoc had been worried that the boy would feel sick because of eating the very sugary cotton-candy but luckily the kid seemed to have a good tolerance for motion; he had only had to help Edward out of the ride and offer some support because the boy seemed to have forgotten how to walk straight.

The best of the play stalls was absolutely the one where you had to shoot moving pictures of bears

The owner was standing behind the selling table. He was about fifty- years old and his body was very muc similar to Breda's but a bit taller. The man wore a blue shirt with white stripes. The pants were brown and cotton and a bit tight around the belly; also brown braces made the carefree appearance excellent. His attention was on the other man shooting the moving pictures.

"Hey," Havoc leaned against the table and looked at the owner smiling like they were old pals. "What's the prize?"

"A cappuchino machine," the owner announced to the pair trying to get them excited. He seemed like an announcer of a circus telling how dangerous every single trick was.

Havoc turned his attention to the boy next to him. "You heard that, kiddo? A coffee pot."

"Should we take part?" Edward asked back realizing what Havoc was doing. He couldn't wait.

The other man, he looked much like the keeper of the stall but only much skinnier and older, was concentrated on shooting and was getting ready to shoot the last bear.

He missed it and lost his patience.

"Damn'it!" The shooter cursed loudly taking the game way too seriously. "It's way too quick!"

"You only need to practise more," the owner encouraged.

"He's right, you know," Havoc nodded symphatically. "Can I try?"

The man glared at him but tossed the gun. It was Havoc's special skill: he got almost anyone to trust him.

"Here, keep it."

Havoc loaded the thing and pointed it to the curtain where the figures would arrive. His concentration was perfect; military had taught him well.

Edward handed the money onto the table and crossed his elbows on the brown wood, careful not to get sticks into his left hand. He waited patintly and the owner turned on the machine. The show began.

Havoc shot the first, and the second, and the third without any problem.

The pace increased and again the man showed off his amazing shooting skills.

Edward smiled excited and began to jump a little; he couldn't stay still.

Both of the other men were amazed and people passing by glanced at their sirection. Few stayed to watch and some oldr men made bets.

The stall keeper was seemingly sweating and breathing hard like he had run the whole day. This was his last chance to keep the expencive device himself. Another button and the figures moved even faster.

Havoc didn't miss any of them.

"This is the last," Edward whispered to himself, voice filled with excitement. The figure came; black and white picture and the animal in it was glaring at them .

Havoc shot and hit the target perfectly.

"Oh yeah!" Edward exclaimed and began a victory dance. "We're the best! We're the champions! We won! You losers!"

"Ed!" Havoc hissed finally noticing people looking at them. Luckily most of them were just smiling amused seeing a little boy doing his movements.

Havoc put the gun on the table and raised his eyebrow smirking as if saying 'so?'. The overweight man looked around and admitted he had lost; there was no way getting out of this one. But it didn't stop him from gritting his teeth and swearing under his breath as he turned to take the machine Havoc had just won.

When he turned around, he put on his best customer service face and gave the 'coffee pot'.

"Congrats," was all he said before he began to tempt the people around them to also join the game.

...

...

...

The performers were walking on the street. It was already five o'clock and soon the day of celebration would be over.

Edward stood on his tip-toes trying to see something behind the backs of the people. He jumped up and down but it was no use. The tall people were like a wall, there was no way he could get past them.

Havoc noticed this and kneeled down behind the boy. Edward didn't notice anything until a pair of hands took a hold of him from under his armpits. With a slight yelp, he was lifted onto Havoc's shoulders and the man stood up. Edward breathed quickly trying to regain his balance. When was the last time he had been this high?

They enjoyed the view and made sounds of adoration seeing the magic tricks and circus movements the talented artists made. Everyone wore glittering and colourful clothes to make the event even more special. From one stage, a real Santa Claus surrounded by green and red suited elves threw colourful candy to everyone.

Eyes gleaming with delight, Edward caught a yellow wrapped one.

"Why are they doing that when Christmas isn't even near yet?" He asked from the man when opening the wrapper and tossing it carelessly to the ground.

Havoc shrugged his shoulders, keeping a hold of the boy's ankles to make sure he wouldn't fall off and get a concussion.

"Because kids love it," he received the other half of the sweet and put it to his mouth. It tasted like toffee.

Edward really enjoyed the carnival. He couldn't even remeber when he had last time had so much fun. The day was perfect; the sky was blue, the sun was shining, trees were beautiful with green and yellow- red leaves, people were chatting happily- for the first time he really felt like Central could actually become his new home.

He happened to glance at his left and immediately grabbed Havoc's hair.

"Put me down!" He commanded breathing quickly.

"What?" Havoc asked not sure if he was hearing right. Was the boy feeling sick or-

"I said put me down!"

The man kneeled down and Edward hurried to the man's right side, making sure their silhouettes matched.

"What-" Havoc began but didn't know how to end his sentence. Edward didn't answer so the mystery was for him to solve. On glancing at his left, he shook his head.

"This is ridiculous."

...

...

...

The firework display lighted up the sky. The hill where they were sitting on was full of young couples who had curled up against each other to enjoy the sight.

Havoc had earlier taken his at- the- moment girlfriends there, to the same place. It had been very romantic.

"Woah!" Edward whispered when seeing an extremely colourful firework. The boy had curled his knees against his chest to keep himself warm.

"It is a pretty sight, " Havoc admitted sitting next to the boy on the grass. His right hand, the one further from the boy, held a lit cigarette.

Edward smiled looking at the sky.

"I can't even remember when I've last time seen something like this."

Havoc looked at the boy from the corner of his eyes. Sitting like that on the ground, curled up and eyes full of dreaming, he looked so tiny. So much smaller than a fourteen- year- old should look like.

An unexplained wave of protectiveness filled him.

"You've always been travelling at this time of the year. It's actually nice that you're saying here longer."

The words were sayed in a matter- of- fact style but held pure sincerity. Edward smiled at the man gratefully and was no doubt touched by the words. Havoc could see it in his eyes and turned his head away to look at the sight in front of him, thoughts circling in his head.

The boys, or telling the truth Edward had a lot of vacation days to use. Mustang had ordered him to stay in Central to get some rest; that was why Edward had ended up living with the Hughes' and Al had went to Rizebuul because he missed their other adopted family there.

"Do you happen to know if Elysia is afraid of firewoks?"

Edward shrugged a bit surprised about the turn that the conversation was taking. "I'm not sure but I wouldn't be surprised."

"Were you afraid of loud noises when you were little?"

"A bit, it was always pretty quiet in our house, expecially when Al was little and-" The boy bowed his head his voice quieting.

Havoc knew what Edward was going to say but emotions took the control of him.

Taking an encouraging inhale of the tobacco smoke, he planned his next move. He knew that talking about Hohenheim, Edward's father, was a very touchy subject but he needed the information for the future.

"Do you remeber your father?" He asked quietly not to scare the kid. His voice was very gentle, signaling that he would be there to support Edward if he broke down.

The boy turned his head around and glared at the Second Lieutenant eyes full of anger.

"He's not my father! He left us."

"And you think of Hughes as his replacement, right." Havoc turned his head to the boy smiling a bit. Edward quieted down again, eyes widening because of the words. Then his whole appearance seemed to relax and become a bit melancholic as he looked at the grass.

"Hughes is the only man who has ever been kind to me." Edward's voice was quiet and held so much pure sincerity. "I can tell him everything and he willingly spends time with me."

"Now, now, aren't I similar?" Havoc joked and punched the boy's automail arm slightly. Edward closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Nope."

The sky was now shining with stars.

...

...

It was late when they made it to Havoc's apartment. To Edward, the whole place seemed a bit weird after spending the whole day outside.

The man walked back to the living room after fetching a blanket from the bedroom.

"The night's going to be chilly. Let's make sure you won't catch a cold. "

He covered the boy first with one blanket and then put another on the top of it.

"Okay", Havoc smiled and ruffled the boy's head once he was sure the covers were perfectly in place. "Now go to sleep."

Edward smiled slightly but soon a toughtful expression appeared onto his face.

Havoc shook his head and sat cross- legged onto the floor.

"Now, what is it?" His voice held only a bit of the frustration he was feeling. Edward thought way too much; sometimes thoughts filled his head and the boy would only become unwell. That was one of the reasons why the boy had Panic Disorder.

Edward shrugged laying on the couch. He was very warm and comfortable but didn't feel sleepy at all.

"It's... I saw the Hughes's there."

"I know."

"... I got scared."

This was utterly ridiculous, Havoc thought as he rubbed his temples. There were no words to describe the situation he had in his hands.

"There's no reason to feel like it."

The boy stayed quiet staring at his hands.

"Hughes thinks of you like his own son."

"But not the same way he thinks of Elysia." The boy answered quietly. Havoc felt an aura of sadness hanging above the boy. "He shows pitcures of her to everyone and tells how cute and brilliant she is."

"Would you like him to brag about you?"

The second time the same day, Edward got angry while having a conversation.

"You don't understand!" The volume of the voice rose notably. Havoc didn't startle or anything, just took Edward's left hand into his own and used his most understanding tone.

"Ed, I do and that was a joke. Now, I work along Mustang and Hughes comes there everyday with no reason to. He always tells about how you're doing and what you did."

Edward didn't look at the man. The only answer the boy could think against the statement Havoc had just said was 'no one but you is interested in how I'm doing' but it sounded all too childish.

He didn't want to be a child. At least not now.

"You never tell about how you feel about him to Hughes, right." Havoc started talking again, rubbing the back of the small hand with his warmer one. It was the only thing he could think of doing for the boy. "It just makes him feel unsure and so he isn't sure if he should tell you. But through all kinds of small things, like you said spending time with you, he shows that he cares."

"But he never says it." Edward shook his head and looked at the man tears filling his eyes. " I'm not his biological son."

"You couldn't mean more to him than you do now even if you were his flesh and blood!"

The words were said with more force than he had intented to. Edward's eyes were wide, the same way like a week ago. Havoc shook his head, he felt like that was all he had done he whole day, and gathered the small body into his arms.

Edward wrapped his arms around his neck. The man held him tightly, stroking his back.

"Edo, don't you see it. Hughes loves you. You're one of the most important things in his life. You don't even know what he would be willing to do for you."

'Edo' was a nickname given to the boy, mostly used when the boy was upset. It felt like those three letters summed up all the feelings adults felt for sad Edward; pity, concern but most of all love."

At the boy's nod, he lifted him back to the couch and covered him again, taking extra- care that the feet were fully covered. Once the work was satisfying, Havoc kneeled next the boy and kissed him on the forehead.

"Goodnight."

The soft crying of a boy was the only thing to be heard in the night.

...

...

...

"Fullmetal, go do this. Fullmetal go do that," Edward muttered while stepping into elevator. Monday was the one day of the week that he actually hated. How come they were expected to work effectively after resting the whole weekend doing nothing? They needed one more day to get used to the hectic lifestyle.

He leaned against the glasswall and sighed closing his eyes. He had just brought the last files to the fifth floor. All he needed to do now was to ride dow n and he and Havoc could leave.

Suddenly the elevator came to a stop and the boy unconsciously moved further to give that whoever passenger some space.

He saw a glimpse of blue uniform, nothing unusual here. He drew the hair out from the infront of his eyes and stopped.

Hughes was standing there, politely looking at the door. The boy could see he knew who the other in the elevator was.

How he wanted to say something, or the man to talk to him. His subconsciousness told him that Hughes wanted it also.

They eyed each other from the corners of their eyes. The situation was very awkward.

Suddenly there was a loud noise and the whole thing shook: then the elevator came to a stop.

Edward regained his balance and breathed heavily. "What is it?"

The first thing he had said to Hughes in days.

The man pressed the button to the first floor but nothing happened. Edward watched how Hughes repeated the motion several times.

Nothing happened and the man turned his gaze to the boy worriedly.

"We got stuck here."

Hughes pushed the alarm button hoping someone would hear them.

Meanwhile the seriousness of the situation got to the boy. Edward began to breath quickly, whole body shaking. Hughes noticed the reaction and was about to walk to the boy but before he could move the fourteen- year- old boy collapsed onto the floor.

...

...

And once again, reviews are more than welcome and treated with love.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello, everyone! How long has it been since the last update... two months! I'm sorry but I had troubles with this one. First I was so glad I made this out, a few days later I was banging my head to my desk. I had many alternate endings and I hope this satisfies you guys.

Now, thanks to my wonderful reviwers: Phoenix07, Bandit Ponyta, Wateria88, Solo Loco Ellingson-Rose, DownMoon, sugarbowl99 and Tigerseyes-and-Padfoot. You are the reason I write this for.

I own nothing of FMA period.

...

...

...

Chapter four

...

...

Everything that Hughes had had in his mind vanished. The whole world seemed to stop to the moment he was now living: the boy was laying on the cold floor of the elevator.

"Edward!"

He hurried onto his knees next to the child, adrenaline rushing into his system and making him breath heavily.

Edward was laying on his back, eyes fixed on the roof of the place. They reflected fear and pupils were wide: a sign of a starting Panic Attack. His hands clutched the throat as gasps slowly but surely began to quicken and lead to hyperventilation.

"Edward," the man used the boy's whole name to get his attention and he took a firm yet gentle hold of the red clothed shoulders. It seemed like nothing had happened; as if the whole week had been just a dream. Hughes dismissed the fact that they hadn't spoken to each other for that time and now only followed his instincts. He knew how to handle Edward when under these attacks.

"You have to stay calm."

The boy shook his head not saying a word and Hughes shook him a bit trying to get some kind of reaction. "Edward!"

"We're... stuck." the words sounded heavy when coming from the panicking child's mouth. Breathing was now clearly difficult for Edward; tears filled the yellow eyes. "I... can't... breath!"

"Yes, you can," all the harshness was gone from Hughes's voice, it was now encouraging. Yelling never did any good in this situation.

He moved his hands to Edward's chest and lifted aside the sides of the red overcoat.

"Now, let's open your jacket so you can breath more freely."

His right hand's fingers clutched the zipper and drew it down in a simple move. Also black tank top was found underneath the cloth: the fabric covered chest rose up and down several inches in the rhythm of the boy's breathing.

Hughes kept himself calm although he knew the situation called for action.

"Now," he said softly taking Edward's face into his hands. "Let's take deep breaths, okay. Repeat after me. One..."

He drew air into his lungs showing example. Edward tried to follow after him but soon went back to quick breathing. His eyes were beginning to dilate and passing out wasn't far away.

The man slapped the boy's cheek gently.

"Stay with me, Ed. You're going to be just fine. Now, one..."

They tried again and this time the boy managed to get his breathing almost to the normal pace.

Hughes smiled approvingly.

"Again. Two..."

Slowly but surely the boy's breathing became less and less frequent.

Hands, covered with white gloves, lessened their hold of the throat. Always a good sign.

Edward's golden eyes diverted their gaze around the metallic roof of the elevator.

The man slipped his hands under the boy's armpits and lifted his upper body up.

"That's a good boy," he muttered softly when feeling Edward's hands wrap around his neck. "Lets get you sit somewhere. "

Hughes dragged the boy to the wall and made him sit against it taking a look at his face.

Pupils were still wide and face pale but otherwise the child seemed to be doing just fine.

He clapped the flesh shoulder smiling and then stood up and made his way to the alarm button.

He pressed it once again.

They waited, barely daring to breath.

"Someone must hear us."

He pressed again.

No one came.

...

...

...

Colonel Roy Mustang was sitting comfortably beside his desk. By comfortably meaning, he was fast asleep.

The onyx haired head layed on the top of the messed sheets of paperwork and arms protected the whole pile crossed around it. A peaceful expression decorated the naturally pale face and the only sound was soft breathing.

Havoc opened the door to the private office not bothering to knock. He walked with long strides, the mark of something being wrong and in need of solving out.

On hearing the Second Lieutenant arriving, Mustang rose his head a bit, eyes stirring as his pupils tried to adjust to look at the person.

"What is it?" He muttered sleepily, smelling the cigarettes the man had obviously been smoking.

"Edward hasn't come yet, I've been waiting for almost an hour."

The commanding officer straightened up notably when hearing the name of the boy and the worried tone in Havoc's voice. During the long years of working together, he had come to recognize the symptoms of something being wrong with his men. Havoc was usually calm and easy- going but when something happened to someone he cared for, the man would be unable to stay still and ready to do anything just to feel useful.

"Well, he isn't here, " Mustang was fully awake now, looking at his friend shaking his head confused. Havoc rose an eyebrow sceptically.

"You were _asleep_."

"I would have heard really can't call him a quiet person."

Havoc had to admit the man had a point. Whenever being in the office, Edward always tried to stir up a conversation or was someway or another making noise, mostly just humming to himself. That was the reason he was now their own little deliver; the boy needed something to put his energy on. Who could expect a fourteen- year- old boy to stay still?

"Maybe", the Second Lieutenant said slowly, the wheels in his head turning. "Maybe he is with Hughes."

This time Mustang was the one to rise an eyebrow. "You serious. Weren't they not in terms?"

"Ed misses him a lot, maybe he shallowed his pride for once."

"He is too stubborn, I admit," Colonel shrugged and nodded, turning his gaze down to the paperwork. Havoc understood the sign and walked to the door.

"I better go look for him."

"Call if you need help," the man rose pencil holding right hand in a gesture of farewell.

...

...

...

An hour went. For the two persons locked up in an elevator it felt like eternity.

Hughes sat on the floor leaning on the wall. Sweat ran down his face. He kept his eyes closed, concentrating on breathing. Edward sat against the other wall. The boy's head was turned to his left and the eyes were half open as if he was about to fall asleep.

It was getting hot- it couldn't be a good sign. The rise in temperature meant that carbon dioxide was replacing the air left in the place. It was now a lot more difficult to breath than 60 minutes ago.

"Dammit!" There was a curse as Hughes rose up and walked to the alarm button. Edward's eyes opened fully at the motion and his pupils focused on the man who was now standing right next to him.

The boy watched how the button was pressed again. Neither of them could recall how many times they had done that. All they knew was that it didn't do any good.

"What if it's broken?"

Hughes turned his gaze down to the boy as if noticing he was there. The golden eyes were shining with fear and insecurity.

It was natural for him to kneel down and put a hand onto the boy's shoulder.

"Don't be afraid. I'm sure we'll get out of here soon."

"We've already been here forever!" Edward stated pointedly, his eyes were gleaming. Hughes acted like he didn't notice the arousing panic.

"No, we haven't. It just feels like it. The others must be looking for us already."

The boy didn't look any more confident and hang his head. Shadow hung over his eyes.

"I promised Havoc I would come soon," the boy said, as if disappointed in himself.

"See? " Hughes stroked the boy's hair smiling, feeling more confident. " You have at least one person there."

Edward lifted his gaze to the man surprised. What he would have expected was Hughes having some hard feelings against Havoc. That was how he had thought it would be. But now that he himself thought about it, maybe the older man felt better being here with him than waiting in the outside. When a loved one was in danger, you wanted to do everything in order to help them.

At least he was a lot calmer because there was someone he could trust.

"Should we bang the door?"

Hughes sighed slightly and shook his head.

"We already tried it."

There seemed to be no way to get out without help from the outside. He had help the boy climb through a trapdoor to see if it was the way to get out. All the effort had been no use.

Alchemy worked neither.

"We try that button all the time too," Edward fixed his golden eyes to him, creating an aura of innocence around him. Hughes couldn't help smiling at the situation.

Now that was something he always admired in Edward. The boy could talk him into almost anything and made him lose his usual rationality. He was quite child minded for an adult but that was only at home. He could draw a line between professional and private but sometimes the work followed him and interrupted his normal everyday life.

"Okay," Hughes stood up and offered a hand to the kid. Once they were both up, they stepped in front of the grey, silvery door. They looked at like it was some kind of a stumble- which it in a way was. " Scream as loud as you can."

The boy did with closed eyes. The high pitched scream, attributed to the strong lungs made Hughes cover his ears with a slight yelp. Luckily the room didn't enable echoing.

"Okay, maybe not that loud," Hughes whispered holding his ears.

...

...

...

Havoc searched the whole building but there was no sign of Edward. Headquarters was getting quiet: it was already past eight. Most of the workers had gone home and he himself wished he could do that also. He and Ed could be now eating dinner, reading newspapers and books. Then they would maybe play something or just spend time. There were no clear rules.

"Damn'it, kiddo," He muttered through tight clenched teeth. "Where are you?"

He desperately needed a cigarette.

Back int the office, he told the result to his Commanding Officer, who immediately lifted the phone and dialed a number.

"Gracia, good evening," The man said friendly, hiding the nervousness he was feeling inside. " Is Maes there?"

Then happened something that dropped the bottom of Havoc's stomach: Mustang frowned.

" Really? No, I haven't seen him. Have you seen Edward then? Okay... I'm not sure- I- Calm down," Mustang said to the phone, holding his palm up.

"I'm sure there is a good explanation for this... Yes, I'll tell you. Call us if you see them, okay? Bye."

Mustang put down the receiver holding his fist against his mouth, thumb touching the lip.

"Gracia says Maes hasn't come home yet. That's unlike for him."

"What if something has happened to them?"

The man lifted his gaze to his friend. "There's no motive."

"Well, Ed is a well-known alchemist -"

"But Hughes is unknown," Mustang interrupted. " There's no way someone would have hurt him."

"Unless he tried to protect Edward."

This left both of them thinking. There was a chance everything was fine and the pair was okay but they still had to remember the worse possibility.

Thoughts whirled in Havoc's mind. Why hadn't Edward called? If the boy was alright, he would have contacted him. Hadn't he personally made the kid promise to keep him in track of his whereabouts? He was the one responsible and if something happened, he would be frayed – by Mustang or Hughes.

"I still doubt it," Mustang's voice came to his mind. Colonel rose up from his chair and went round his desk." Maybe we should search the building again."

The pair left the room with long strides.

...

...

...

Both of the victims lay on the floor breathing heavily. It was getting so hot and the air was a lot thinner. The ever growing warmth had made them to take some of their clothes off. Edward's red and black coats were in a pile just next to Hughes's military jacket.

The man wiped his sweaty forehead and grimaced inwardly on feeling the dampness. He cleaned his hand onto his trousers- he had been doing that a lot. The heat was oppressive, Hughes had no other way than open the buttons of his light blue shirt. Luckily he had decided to wear that for the day.

Edward was on his stomach, desperately trying to gather some chill from the floor. Unexpectedly, he snorted.

"What?" Hughes asked, turning his head to the boy. Edward's body was shaking with silent laughter.

"It's just... imagine what people would be thinking if they came here now."

The man gave the thought a moment and then started to get what the boy was saying. Normally he wouldn't have thought the idea of him being a pedophile funny but now, the situation being what it was, the man found himself laughing hysterically.

"Ed," he managed to say, trying to sound scolding: he failed ," you know you shouldn't say things like that."

"But, but... it's just that..."

The voice trailed off and was replaced by sobs. Edward curled up on the floor; the position he slept in most of the nights for the security it brought.

"Edo," Hughes crawled next to the boy worried. He knew panicking didn't help either of them.

But still, the man thought while taking the kid's face between hands, wiping the tears with his thumbs: Edward was just a child. A little boy who was scared to death.

"Don't cry," he kept his voice as comforting as possible. "There's no need to cry."

The soft tone didn't seem to do much good. The only achievement was the words coming out of the boy's mouth.

"We are going to die here."

"No, we won't," the man said as the sobs began again. " Someone is going to-"

"Don't give me that! " Edward pushed the man away screaming. Hughes ended up on the floor on his on his back. He looked at the boy eyes filled with fear. Not caring about the reaction to his outburst, the boy went on. "You've said the same thing for the last hour!"

"Edo..."

"I- I want to live, Hughes," Edward calmed down and it was getting difficult to speak because of the thick trails of tears. Desperation in his whole appearance, the boy whispered the words.

Hughes shook his head trying hard not cry himself. Instead he bit his lip and drew the boy against him, catching him in an embrace. Edward wrapped his hands around the man's neck, locked against the man's body. Deep down inside, he had always enjoyed people hugging him and now, it felt more welcome than ever. The comforting rubs and whispers Hughes gave him felt like a lullaby.

" I want to grow up and get Al's body back- Al!"

A horrible though came into his mind. His little brother- the only thing that kept him from giving up. The one he loved more than anything and would sacrifice his life for. The yellow eyes widened as the boy remembered the things he had faced with his brother, and thought of the things they would not experience if he didn't make it. Breathing quickened again and Hughes found himself holding a trembling body in his arms.

" What's going to happen to him if I die?"

Hughes drew the boy away from him and kept his hands on the shoulders. There was no other way than to shake the boy back to consciousness.

"Ed, Ed. EDWARD!"

Firm shaking finally brought some sense into the kid's mind. Hughes was sure he had hurt the boy: he had had to use so much strenght.

" Now, calm down. Take a deep breath," he began to repeat the instructions. After a while Edward's eyelids began to drop.

"No," he slapped the boy's cheek, "don't fall asleep. "'

Time was running out.

...

...

...

"Maybe they're not here," Mustang leaned against the wall and sighed.

Havoc was beginning to think the same. Still, there was still weird feeling in the back of his subconsciousness that they were missing something. It was like he could actually _feel _the boy was still in the building.

Maybe he was just gertting paranoid.

"We should go to look from the city. Or call Gracia," He said trying to get some sense into the situation. Mustang nodded wearily eyes closed.

"You're right," He nodded breathing heavily and waving his hand to the direction of the wall. " Get an elevator."

Havoc chuckled and pressed the call-button. His eyes held a teasing glint and the whole face showed what he thought of the situation.

"Not been working out lately, huh?"

"Shut up. Remember, who pays your salary," Mustang growled looking at the Second Lieutenant, coal black eyes gleaming with anger.

"The state."

Mustang looked annoyed. The other man just shook his head. There was no way he was going to be afraid of Mustang.

Especially when the other had forgotten his gloves to the office.

But when the elevator didn't show up, Havoc frowned.

"This is weird."

He pushed the button a few times. "It was working in the morning."

Suddenly a thought came to Mustang's mind.

"Could it be-" he breathed, more likely whispered to himself and walked to the door, banging it with his fist.

"Is there someone there?"

No response. The man tried again.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

...

...

...

Hughes layed on the floor and breathed the best he could. Air was growing thin and the thought of death came to his mind.

What if they died? What if they wouldn't be found?

He tried to concentrate on breathing steadily but his gaze wandered to the boy next to him.

Edward layed on his side, looking like he was asleep. The position usually kept victims breathing more easily but here, where air was a privilege, it didn't work. He had tried his best to keep the boy awake until it had become impossible.

At least if death wouldn't be too scary for the boy if it happened while he was asleep.

Tears gathered into his eyes. Hughes let them fall and stroked the kid's soft cheek tenderly.

"Ed," he whispered, voice barely loud enough for him to hear. "Kiddo. I'm so sorry I- I-"

What should he be sorry for? He hadn't caused this accident to happen.

"I'm sorry I hit you. I swear I never meant to do it. It just happened- Bullshit!" The man shook his head, angry to himself.

"Who am I trying to kid? I hit you, I admit it. I wish all the time I could make it undone."

His voice became nothing but a whisper.

" I love you, kiddo, and I never want to hurt you. "

"Is there someone there?"

The voice was very familiar. He knew he had heard it many times before. He just couldn't remember it.

It was getting difficult to think.

"Hello? Do you hear me?"

Like a wave, memories flashed in front of his eyes.

"Roy," Hughes whispered feeling his heart beginning to beat faster. How was it that his friend always seemed to show up when all the hope had disappeared?

The man stumbled to his feet, being careful not to crash onto the boy and banged the door with his fists.

"Help! We're stuck!"

"Don't worry," Mustang's voice came to his ears, making him smile with relief. "We'll get you out soon."

Hughes breathed deeply in and out due to his raised pulse. Then the rush of adrenaline wore out and the man fell to his knees, thanking whatever God there was up there. With his remaining power, he crawled to Edward's side and took the boy's face between his hands.

"We're going to be rescued."

Then he frowned. The boy was deathly still, eyes closed. Something wasn't right.

"Ed?" Worry began to slink into his mind as he dove and put his ear in front of the kid's mouth and nose, keeping his gaze in the chest which was covered by a black tank top. He waited for a moment, trying to calm down when the horrible realization hit him.

Edward wasn't breathing.

"Oh no," the man breathed out and opened the kid's mouth. He stretched the tongue with his index finger: it had covered the throat and prevented air from getting into lungs. After making sure the boy was properly positioned on the floor, Hughes put his left hand under the boy's neck and drew the head backwards. The famous red jacket layed next to Edward's head: He folded it and put under neck to lessen the possible pressure. Closing the nose with his right hand's thumb and index finger, he put his lips tightly against the softer ones and blew in a deep breath.

"HURRY! ED ISN'T BREATHING!"

Panic was now beginning to take him over for a change. Adrenaline kicked in again- everything seemed blurry.

Hughes drew deep breaths as he waited for the boy's lungs to exhale. Once there was no sound anymore, he inhaled and blew the air into the boy's mouth.

While trying to keep the boy alive thoughts circled in his mind. Edward didn't give any reaction to any of his slaps and calls. There, or so it felt like, he realised just how small the boy was. Only his fingertips were enough to close the boy's nose and his mouth... He couldn't even begin to describe how horrible it felt to put pressure on it to keep air flowing in and out. There wasn't much air anymore and the lack of it made him feel dizzy but if he had to choose which of them would survive he knew whom he would choose in a heartbeat.

Suddenly a loud, metallic noise caught his attention and the elevator began to ride down. A few seconds later it came to a stop and the door opened.

Fresh air flowed in and made Hughes cough uncontrollably. Coolness from outside got his flesh into goosebumps and he wrapped his arms around his body to warm himself up.

A blue jacket landed onto his shoulders. The man looked to his right still in shock and saw Mustang there, kneelt next to him. His friend began to rub his arms warming him up, all the while asking questions.

Meanwhile, Havoc put his hands under Edward's back and knees and lifted him up easily. In the hallway, he went down to his knees, keeping the boy's upper body in his arms.

"Ed?" The man held the boy's head against the hand that was around the shoulders. He slapped Edward's cheek repeatedly. "C'mon, kiddo. Open your eyes."

At first the boy didn't answer. When Havoc was about to go on with mouth-to-mouth Edward let out a tiny cough followed by several more. The man helped him sit up and rubbed the boy's back as the lungs replaced the air inside of him.

Hughes sighed relived and hung his head. The experience had left him wary both mentally and physically.

"What happened? How long were you there?" Mustang asked his gaze diverting from the boy to the man.

Neither of the two spoke for a moment. Havoc held Edward against him, supporting the boy from the back, wiping some sweaty locks from face. He couldn't remember when he had last time been so shocked. His heart was still pounding and the pressure it caused was in a form of uncomfortable pounding in his ears.

Edward just concentrated on trying to get enough air into his system. Eyes closed, the boy could do nothing but lean against his saviour, trying to relax under the gentle touch of the man's fingers.

...

...

...

The evening was dark as they walked out of the building. Edward kept his arms close to his body: he was still cold after the sudden change in his body temperature. Havoc had a hold around his shoulders and kept him close as if it was the way to prevent anything from happening to him anymore.

"So," Hughes's voice came into their thoughts. "Quite a night did we have."

The pair turned around to look at Mustang and Hughes. The moonlight shone from the older man's glasses but despite that Havoc saw the look in his eyes.

He reached into his military jacket's pocket and took the keys. Taking a hold of the boy's hand, he put them onto it.

"Ed, go and wait in the car. I'll come right away."

The boy looked at both men unsure. Then he finally set his gaze to Hughes as if asking for advice. The man nodded and Edward began to walk away.

Havoc looked after him for a moment, both out of protectiveness as much as giving himself time to think of what to say.

But he had no need to do it.

"Stay with him for tonight, Havoc."

He turned his gaze to Hughes again. The man had a blank expression in his face, like they would be discussing an everyday thing.

"Call help if something happens, okay."

Nodding, Havoc smiled slightly and turned away. The tone in Hughes voice had been a giveaway; whatever had happened in the elevator, it had brought the two closer again.

...

...

...

_Edward leaned against the glass wall and sighed closing his eyes. He had just brought the last files to the fifth floor. All he needed to do now was to ride down and he and Havoc could leave._

_Suddenly the elevator came to a stop and the boy unconsciously moved further to give that whoever passenger some space. _

_He saw a glimpse of blue uniform, nothing unusual here. He drew the hair out from the in front of his eyes and stopped. _

_Hughes was standing there, politely looking at the door. The boy could see he knew who the other in the elevator was._

_How he wanted to say something, or the man to talk to him. His subconsciousness told him that Hughes wanted it also. _

_They eyed each other from the corners of their eyes. The situation was very awkward._

_Suddenly there was a loud noise and the whole thing shook: then the elevator came to a stop. _

_Edward regained his balance and breathed heavily. "What is it?" _

_The first thing he had said to Hughes in days._

_The man pressed the button to the first floor but nothing happened. Edward watched how Hughes repeated the motion several times._

_Nothing happened and the man turned his gaze to the boy worriedly._

"_We got stuck here."_

_Hughes pushed the alarm button hoping someone would hear them._

_All of a sudden water poured to the elevator from under the door. _

"_Oh no!" The boy cried and pushed against the silver coloured door trying to open it. Water reached his knees. _

"_We can't get out!" Edward turned around to face Hughes but his eyes widened with shock: there was no one there._

"_Hughes!" _

_He was alone. It was icy cold and he could feel his limbs starting to freeze and paralyze. He couldn't move._

_The water reached his neck and the waves were rash and prevented him from breathing. Water entered his mouth and nose. He was suffocating. He couldn't think. He couldn't breath._

"Ed! Edward!"

_And now he was hearing noises. Maybe the lack of air was affecting him_.

"C'mon, kiddo. Wake up!"

The boy woke with a jolt and layed on the couch. He looked at the ceiling of the dark apartment, drawing deep breaths of air into his lungs.

Havoc was on his knees next to him, hands on the edge of the couch. He hadn't been able to wake Edward up without shaking.

"It's okay," he whispered as the boy's expression turned from confused to anxious. Havoc wiped some locks from the face. "It was just a stupid nightmare."

"In which I drowned," Edward whispered eyes glittering. "I was alone."

Shaking his head, Havoc helped the boy up from the couch by taking a careful hold of the shoulders.

"Take your pillow and covers. You're sleeping with me tonight. "

The boy nodded silently and gathered the clothes into a pile. The man chuckled at the sight: Edward couldn't almost be seen behind it. Hugging his carryings tight, the boy made his way to the bedroom, Havoc following him.

Once in the bed, the boy crawled under two covers: one that had already been on the bed and the other he had brought with. The night air was cold because of the quickly approaching winter. Soon it would began to snow and then the whole winter would be hell. So many things he would rather live without.

"You're shaking," a hand landed on his covered arm. Havoc watched him worriedly.

"I'm okay," he muttered and crawled deeper under the thick warmers. How could it be so cold?

The man didn't buy it. He layed down next to the boy and drew him close.

"You don't have to be afraid," Havoc said quietly, providing the kid with his body warm and closeness. "Just go to sleep. You've had a long day."

Edward nodded closing his eyes and sighed deeply. For a while, he still shook occasionally but soon was in a deep sleep again. It was always easy for him to fall asleep, the most difficult part was to stay like it.

Unlike Edward, Havoc wasn't the type that could fall asleep quickly. Usually it frustrated him to stay awake for who knows how long but now it gave him a moment to think.

_Maybe I should let the kid sleep with me from now on. It could make things easier for both of us._

_..._

_..._

I actually have no kind of idea how fast air wears out in an elevator. I remember one Frasier episode in which there were about four people and a Christams tree in one and the man said they have air for about twenty minutes. I'm the master of deduction.

Comments will be spoiled to death with sweets and love!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I'm so sorry for this chapter is so late, I have no idea what was wrong with me! This chapter is pretty much te same as it was originally.

Now, I got only one review of the last chapter but there has been over 1000 hits for this story. Was the chapter really so bad you thought it was not worth reviewing? Anyway, thanks to Dzem for reviewing!

And the other thing I have to say, this follows the original anime line, and so the Hughes in this is the original anime Hughes, not the Brotherhood version. While they have been able to make most of the characters look like those in the original anime, they have completely destroyed Hughes. The guy looks so ugly, nothing like the man I fell in love with. The quality of the new show is horrible! The only reason I watch it is Hughes and havoc and their moments with Edward (likepisode 5), but after what will happen to both of them, I'm pretty sure I like the new series even less.

So, now that I've lost most of my readers, here is the new chapter. And I still don't own the characters or anything.

...

...

Chapter 5

Havoc looked at the couch from his working spot and frowned: Edward was laying on the purple piece of furniture, out-cold. The boy was laying on his back wearing his regular working clothes: black leather trousers, black boots and black jacket which had a – surprise, surprise- black tank top underneath it. The whole attire was made perfect by long, red overcoat. The automail-arm was over his head while the other hung over the edge of the couch.

The boy never slept like that; at least Havoc had never seen him do so.

"He really is tired," Fuery stated worried.

"Yeah," Havoc nodded taking a cigarette out of his mouth. He sighed and a cloud of smoke came out of his mouth.

"You don't seem to be too well either," Breda commented from his spot opposite his best friend.

The man waved his hand to lessen the worries of his comrades. "I'm just fine. It's the kid I'm worried about."

The door to the office room opened and Hawkeye and Falman came in. The woman carried files under her armpit. She looked to the sleeping boy surprised.

"Shouldn't you have let him stay home today? This is not a bedroom."

The sentence was said matter o factly, almost coldly. Havoc knew inside that the woman didn't mean her words to be taken literally but they still hit the nerve.

"You try dealing with him 24/7 and then come say something like that," Havoc snapped a bit more irritably than he had had intention to. Instantly after saying it, he put his face into his hands and rubbed his forehead. All the sleepless nights were getting a toll of him.

A sound from the couch got his attention. Edward had turned his face to the couch and was muttering something incoherent in his sleep.

The man rose up from his seat and kneeled next to the couch.

"Kiddo," He called shaking the boy's shoulder. Edward didn't answer nor move his position.

Havoc went on talking to the boy with a soft voice but it didn't do any good: Edward was going to sleep for some time.

After realizing the task was hopeless, Havoc stood up, raised his hands in a sign of surrender and walked back to his place. He had nothing against the boy sleeping but why couldn't the kid rest at night.

Hawkeye watched the process, her finger gently rubbing her cheek in a sign of thinking.

"If you're that tired, then couldn't Hughes-"

"No. Edward doesn't want to go back yet."

"By what I've heard, he really misses the kid," Falman spoke up from next to Hawkeye. His original post was in the Investigations Department- in fact, Hughes had been the one that had discovered him. Havoc knew Hughes well through Edward but Falman knew him better as a Military Officer. "Major hasn't been himself since the incident happened."

None of them could call the hitting by its real name. What Hughes had done was just not like him. The man was always kind, modest and ready to help anyone, friends and unknown.

Fuery looked at Edward worriedly.

"Maybe there is something seriously wrong with him," He said quietly. "I've heard that in brain cancer cases-"

"Major has got no cancer, Fuery." Hawkeye snapped turning to look to the young officer. She blinked her eyes when noticing the man was not looking at the group which was having the conversation.

"Um… Which one were you even talking about?"

"Maybe Hughes envies Edward," Breda leaned his head into his right hand, also wanting to express his point of view.

"Why would he be?" Havoc sent an evil glare to the man. "Edward's life isn't actually worth envying."

Breda wasn't ready to give up. As a strategist, he always had various possibilities ready in case they were needed. "But they have the same rank, and you know how much publicity the kid has gotten."

"Hughes has never been interested in ranks," Falman stopped the forming fight before Havoc had a chance to say anything back. "Still, I must say that he is not pleased with how everyone in Amestris know Edward's name. He's worried something might happen to the boy."

For once, Falman's unthinkable amount of information didn't leave them annoyed.

...

...

Two hours later, Edward Elric had finished his nap and was now feeling much better. He stretched his limbs over his head and yawned widely. The couch was not the most comfortable thing to sleep on.

Then he saw the person he had wanted to see since yesterday evening.

"Hey!" Edward ran to Hughes smile decorating his face. The man turned around and smiled also, but not as happily nor widely as the boy.

"Nice to see you too, Ed."

The child felt some of his cheerfulness being washed away. Hughes was friendly, that was normal, but there seemed to be a wall between them. It was like two years ago when they knew each other only slightly and were nothing more than just friends. To the boy, it felt like yesterday and the whole elevator incident had not happened at all. Every minute since they had went separate ways in the evening, he had hoped in his heart that everything was alright now and they could start from where they left. Even Havoc had assured him that everything would become normal within time; after all, Hughes had been completely normal in the elevator where they were alone.

Not willing to give up everything they had, Edward came up with a possibility that Hughes was still shocked. He wasn't sure if the man had told Gracia what has happened. The man was like his father, even though there had not been any formal adoption, and he knew Hughes cared for him with all his life. At least Havoc had told him so time after time. Edward had lost consciousness and that's why he couldn't remember much about what had happened, but he had heard that Hughes had practically kept him alive. Something so horrible would touch any parent in an unexplainable way.

"Are you alright?" The boy finally asked. "I mean- what happened yesterday-"

For a moment Hughes's face turned from tired to worried and the man stepped forward and took the boy from the shoulders.

"I should be the one asking that! Sorry, I'm in my thoughts at the moment. One case is pretty difficult," he ruffled the boy's hair affectionally. Edward couldn't relax to the touch, something was still wrong.

"I'm just fine, sleeping was the toughest part."

Hughes sighed and lifted his right hand to rub his forehead. The yellow-green eyes were closed as if the man was in pain.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked quickly, worry thick in his voice.

The man nodded weakly opening his eyes still keeping his other hand on the boy's automail shoulder.

"Yeah, this is just headache."

"Maybe you should take some aspirin."

"Did so already, it had no effect."

They started to walk through the corridor making friendly small- talk about this and that. Hughes told the boy about Elysia's latest achievements but a lot more briefly than usually. Edward sensed something was seriously wrong.

Suddenly Hughes stumbled into his own feet and had to steady himself against the wall.

"Hughes," the boy cried and took a hold of the man's arm to help him stay upright. His gaze became fixated on the man's face: His pupils were dilated- not a good sign.

"Hughes," Edward repeated shocked, listening to man's heavy breathing. "You should really get help."

Older of the two shook his head forcefully as a sign of rejecting the idea. The man tried to stand on his own feet but didn't find his balance and collapsed onto the boy, eyes rolling to the back of his head.

Edward yelped when the body crushed him under but after the first shock, he started his battle to get from under Hughes. He moved the body gently and turned the man onto his back.

He rose to his knees and almost ran away on seeing the pale face and the lack of motion.

The boy himself was beginning to shake.

"Hughes," he whispered taking the unconscious man's face into his hands and slapping it gently. He didn't dare to use much force: what if he would hurt him?

When he didn't receive any reaction he took a tight hold of the shoulders, like he had been told to do if someone fainted.

"Wake up!" He added considerably the volume of his voice. "Please! Don't be dead!"

The man didn't response in any way. Edward didn't even know if the man was alive anymore. He couldn't remember what to do. Should he check breathing or get help?

His flesh hand began to sweat and it was getting difficult to breath.

_No,_ the boy thought shaking his head. _I can't have another attack! Not now!_

Shaking was getting worse and he began to feel sick. Hughes needed help, but he couldn't help him. The only solution was Mustang's office. If he only managed to get there before Panic Attack would get the control over him, he would be of help in even some way.

Taking in one last glance of the unconscious man, Edward stood up and hurried away.

...

...

Edward laid on the large bed in Havoc's bedroom. He sniffed and a tear slid down his cheek. The flesh hand wiped it away although the act was in vain: more tears would come soon.

Two panic attacks in just two days were too much for his body to handle; he was still shaking and feeling little nauseous. The fact that he was clad only in his boxers and a t-shirt, laying on cool bed and covered by a blanket didn't improve his situation.

_How did this happen? _He asked from himself but didn't become any wiser.

_Why?_

_..._

Havoc finished his latest cup of coffee. He knew he wasn't going to get any sleep the whole night but at the moment he didn't care.

Setting his mug down on the table, he put his face into his hands and sighed. After Edward had ran into the office everything had been nothing but a big disaster.

The boy had cried something incoherent but a few words had been understandable. Once the most of the office had ran out, it had been his job to try to calm Edward down. It hadn't been easy: the panic attack the boy had had was the worst Havoc had ever seen him in. And now he still couldn't do anything to help him.

The man stood up and walked to the first aid closet. He opened a bottle and took one pill out of it to lay on his palm. The tablet was strong enough to help the boy lead a normal life but in bigger situations it did nothing.

He fisted his hand carefully and opened another bottle and took two pills out it; they were the same size as the first one.

After filling a crystal clear glass with cool water, Havoc walked to his bedroom door and knocked onto it gently, just to not to scare the boy.

"Hey," He whispered and sat onto the edge of the bed, to the end of the boy's feet. Edward layed on his side, hands crossed over his chest. He turned his head to look at Havoc: the yellow eyes were red.

"Anything new?"

"No, but they promised to call if there came any change in his situation."

The boy turned his head away to stare to the wall. Havoc knew he had had a long day and needed rest but he knew also that it wouldn't come easy. He himself had been fifteen when his father had had a heart attack, and he knew just what the boy was thinking.

Havoc forced the depressing thoughts out of his mind, and offered the three tablets on his palm.

"Here," he said encouragingly. "Take these, they'll help you sleep."

Slowly, Edward sat up and picked up the medicine. He put them into his mouth without hesitation and gulped down with water.

"That's good," the man set the glass onto the night table. He touched the boy's hair and subconsciously tried to unlock the tangled strands. On realizing it was not possible without a proper shower and combing, Havoc took a hold of the boy's shoulders and laid him down.

He whispered comforting words as he drew the blanket over the boy's frame and went on with petting the hair.

He had no idea how long he stayed there. Time didn't matter at the moment; Havoc's only aim was to make Edward feel as safe as possible. Occasionally, the boy said some random things like: "Why did it happen?" And "What if he dies and I'll never get the chance to make it up with him?"

The man answered the best he could but there were no real answers. Only time would show what was to happen.

The doorbell rang and woke Havoc up from his daze. For a moment he just looked to the direction of his bedroom door as if it would help him to see who the person outside was. Then he finally got his legs moving and walked to the answering machine.

He pressed the button to get his voice heard.

"Yeah?"

"It's Mustang. May I come in?"

Usually Havoc played with his commanding officer, thinking out aloud if he should let the man enter the building. It always pleased him to hear the man's impatience grow thin, especially because he was ten stores higher than The Flame Alchemist.

In contrast, now something so childish didn't even come to his mind.

Havoc allowed the entering and went back to the bedroom. In the time he had been away, Edward had curled up onto his left side and was asleep.

The man bowed and stroked the hair.

"Just sleep, okay. I'll be there in the living room if you need anything."

He walked away and turned to the kid on the door.

"Good night, kiddo," he said softly before closing the door.

"You are careless, leaving your door open like that."

The man's reflexes made him to turn around in a split second to see Mustang standing in the hallway.

"Someone might kill you."

"Never scare me like that again," Havoc warned grasping his chest breathing heavily.

"I thought you were expecting me," Mustang crossed his arms across his chest coldly.

"Yes, but I thought you would have made some noise and not just stood there like a ghost!" The younger man snapped trying to regain his pride. Soon enough he noticed the tenseness in the air and both the men lowered their gazes.

"Anything new?"

Mustang merely shrugged. "They say he is going to live and there shouldn't be any lasting injuries."

Second Lieutenant lifted his gaze and asked the question he had been yearning an answer to."So, was it a heart attack?"

"Not actually; too little rest, too much work. I had to force him to take a sick leave. Someone else from his unit got the case. But you know Maes, thinks no one else can do a job better than he does. That selfish bastard!"

Worry was written all over Mustang's face. The curse words coming from his mouth only showed how much the man cared for Hughes. Havoc knew Hughes and Mustang had known each other for years, some said they had been best friends since they were toddlers. As they had grown up together, those two men had formed a wordless connection; they knew one would always be there for the other in any situation. They acted like they were nothing more than comrades, and Havoc was quite sure the gestures were not always acted on Mustang's part especially when Hughes called thirteenth time in the same day. They got on each other's nerves but as the old people said: The more fights, the better friendship.

Havoc's gaze fixated on the clenched fists and the shaking of the older man. He could see that there was something else than worry behind Mustang's reaction.

Moments passed without neither of the men knowing what to say, they only glanced at each other from time to time. Finally Mustang turned back to the front door, wrapping his black jacket tighter around himself.

"I should be leaving."

"You can stay here if you want to," Havoc moved closer to the other, he had a feeling it was not good to leave Mustang alone after what had happened earlier.

"That's okay," Colonel tried to smile encouragingly but failed miserably; more likely he seemed to be in pain. "I don't want to be any trouble."

"It's just nice to have company," Havoc went on assuring and pointed to the bedroom door. "Ed is going to sleep through the night. We could open a bottle of scotch, get drunk, and talk about the good old times."

For a moment Mustang just stood there, looking at his subordinate astonished. Then his face melted into a genuine smile. "Yeah, I would love that."

...

...

An hour later both of the men were drunk. An empty bottle of wine laid on its side on the living room table, now they were drinking the heavier beverages.

Staring at his glass full of scotch on rocks, Mustang occupied the sofa. His speech slurred a bit and his eyes were half open. Now that the laughing had subsided, the depressing themes were brought up. First had been the Ishval War in which both Havoc and Mustang had fought and gained some everlasting emotional and physical scars. The only good thing was that the whole war had occurred so long ago that everything about it had been discussed over and over again.

"He's always been there for me," Mustang whispered, leaning back to the same couch Edward had occupied for the last week. His hands held the glass on his knees. "He has always helped and guided and everything but when have I helped him? Never! I wasn't there when he collapsed."

Havoc didn't know what to do when the man's voice died to be replaced by a broken sigh. He recognized the voice and lowered his gaze. He knew Mustang didn't want anyone to see how much the accident had affected him.

He got a perfect excuse to leave the man in peace as the phone rang. He didn't even dare to clap the other on the shoulder: usually it was no problem. The whole situation seemed to be one of those dreams which you think will never end.

"Hello?" He said after picking up the receiver.

"It's Hawkeye. Is the Colonel there?" The woman sounded to be out of breath and worried.

"Yeah, he's right there next to me," Havoc looked to his left to the said man. Truth to be told, there were at least five meters between them but Hawkeye didn't need to know it.

There was a pause. Havoc took the receiver away from his ear and tapped it in case there was something wrong with the line.

"...Are you drunk?" He heard as he set the receiver back onto his ear and waved his hand as if what woman had asked didn't matter.

"A bit."

"Jean Havoc, you do realize you have a fourteen-year- old boy in your house and that that boy is completely shake up by what happened today?"

Havoc walked further away from Mustang, towards the mirror closet. He covered the part of the receiver he spoke to.

"Ed is in a deep sleep," He said calmly as if that would ease the woman's fury.

"But think of how he might feel if he wakes up and finds out that he is alone with two wasted drunk men?"

"Ed's seen us drunk before besides it's been a rough day. I gave him two sleeping pills so this won't bother him."

"So you just knocked him out," Hawkeye didn't yell but was clearly furious. She said her words so heavily Havoc had to draw the receiver from his ear. "You know, I'm this close to come there and get him somewhere else."

Havoc took in a calming breath not to get angry with the woman.

"Listen," he started his last effort to get everything peaceful again. "This wasn't in my plans. Remember me and Colonel drunk, we are not violate or anything... Or- ," He hesitated and bit his lip," at least I'm not."

There was the sound of phone being slammed down.

Havoc sighed and looked at his reflection. Without another word, he slammed his head against the mirror.

...

Eventually Hawkeye came fast as a tornado. She didn't answer to Havoc's greeting but looked around the small apartment like the place was not suitable for a human.

She walked to the living room only to find her commanding officer sitting on the couch. The man had clearly seen better, and more sober days.

"Good evening, Lieutenant," Mustang raised his glass as if to make honor for her entering. The woman merely nodded but sent a disapproving glance to him.

Edward was laying exactly the same way as an hour earlier.

The woman sat at the end of the boy's feet and shook his shoulder.

"Edward," she whispered. Her voice didn't hold the same warmth Havoc had heard mother's use but at least it was not full of anger.

The boy muttered something close to "let me sleep" and turned to his back.

_What is it with him?_ Havoc frowned and crossed his arms across his chest.

"You know," he walked closer. "Go to the kitchen and open the last cupboard on the left. Take the two bottles in there. "

He earned a puzzled, a bit frightened look but not because of the mention of medicines. Hawkeye had noticed that the boy barely had any clothes on under the blanket.

Havoc decided not to care about her look.

"I'm not a pedophile. We've worked together for like- what- ten years and you think something like that of me?"

"Usually I don't know what to think about you guys," Hawkeye shook her head but rose from the bed and walked slowly out of the room. Havoc followed her and closed the bed room door to give Edward some privacy.

He turned to the boy and sighed; this was definitely not how he had planned to spend his evening.

Finally he got his not so sober mind out of his thoughts and walked to the bed. Edward's clothes were on the chair beside the night table; he lifted the trousers first.

Putting his hand under the boy's back, Havoc lifted the upper body. He had to contract his muscles far more than he had thought: Edward was all dead weight. The yellow haired head hung backwards and the braid touched the pillows behind it. The man muttered swear words under his breath, this was not working. He had to change his plan.

As carefully as he could, Havoc lowered the child back onto the bed to lie on his back and looked at his face. Edward was breathing in and out peacefully, not aware of anything that was happening around him.

The man took trousers into his hands and rolled the trouser legs up. Then he lifted the left foot, the automail one and forced it into the cloth. He left the right one last because flesh leg was more flexible and so easier to handle.

After a whole minute of struggling and sweating, the pants were drawn up and Havoc closed the brown belt as a sign of victory. He sighed and allowed himself a moment to relax. His body slumped next to the boy's.

"You know what," The man muttered and took the boy's jaw into his hand. "I know I've said this before but it is true. Awake or asleep- you're a handful."

If he waited for a response, he didn't get any.

By the time he moved on to trying to dress the boy into his black tank top, Havoc began to wonder if he had possibly given the boy too much sleeping pills. When he had gotten the boy into a position in which he could sit without falling to the floor, the easy part was over. He had extreme trouble trying to get arms through the opening because when he got one arm up, the other slumped down against the body. Finally he got enough and called Hawkeye for help. His manliness and pride suffered a bit but he figured it was better than causing Edward unnecessary suffering.

Not much time passed until Edward was all ready to leave, in the clothes part that was. The woman helped the boy to sit upright and put his head against her chest.

In his drunken mind, Havoc couldn't help feeling envious. It had been a long time since he had been that close to any woman. The boy didn't even care about women!

Hawkeye didn't seem to notice the man's expression. She slapped the boy's cheek slightly."Ed... Edward."

"What?" The boy murmured, not opening his eyes.

"Edward, you're coming with me," the woman told in a quiet voice. "Now , I can't carry you so you have to help me."

"Okay," Edward nodded and became quiet. Hawkeye brought her hand to the boy's cheek again and slapped it three times and with more force.

"Edward!"

"Stop it. I can carry him," Havoc told the woman and started to walk closer but was stopped by an irritated gaze.

"You would just drop him!"

It took almost five minutes for Edward to become awake enough to stand up. He got to the front door and sat down onto the floor to put on his shoes. It took him a minute to remember how to put them on but tying them up seemed impossible in Edward's current state. The boy looked like he could pass out from any kind of thinking.

After a while Havoc felt so sorry for him that he knelt down in front of the boy and tied the shoe laces slowly. Within his heart he knew that the gesture was not to only help the boy but also to ease his own guilt.

"There," he whispered and took the boy from under the armpits and helped him stand up. "All better now."

Edward looked up to him into his blue eyes and, all of a sudden, hugged him. Havoc startled for a moment but then drew his own arms around the boy's form and rubbed his back and hair. Apparently the hug was for good night since the boy relaxed and was about to drift off consciousness again.

Havoc took in a deep breath and turned his gaze to Hawkeye.

"Maybe I should go with you," He said tightening his hold of the boy to prevent him from falling down. "Kid will never stay awake. "

"You'll take care of Colonel, I'll manage myself."

The man nodded and bent his head lower to the boy's level and whispered: "Good night, kiddo."

The pair left the apartment, the older supporting the younger. Havoc closed the door after them and rested his head against it. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow.

Back in the living room, Mustang raised his glass yet again and stated: "Bless the Lieutenant, she is one efficient woman."

Sometimes Havoc really wanted to kill his commanding officer.

...

...

...

Hawkeye slumped onto the sofa and glanced at the clock: It was already midnight.

She had called Gracia if Edward could spend a night at the Hughes's and the woman had agreed immediately. It had taken much effort from them to get the boy upstairs into his room and while Gracia changed the boy's outfit into pajamas, she made tea. Now the water was boiling and she regretted in her mind not to have accepted Havoc's offer. Her back was going to kill her in the morning.

"Are you angry at him?" Gracia walked down the stairs in a white night gown. Her hair was brushed and she still had makeup on. The woman did look nothing like a person ready to go to sleep.

"A bit," she shrugged and watched as the mother went to the kitchen to fetch their drinks. "I know he didn't mean this to happen but I think it is irresponsible to drink in front of children."

Gracia nodded smiling slightly and offered the First Lieutenant a cup.

"How is he doing?" Hawkeye asked when she thought the moment was right. She saw worry flash on Gracia's face.

"He is sleeping. He is in no life danger but the doctors are going to keep him in hospital for some time."

As they both sipped their drinks, Hawkeye let her eyes travel around the living room. There were two lilac couches facing each other. The woman had been told that on one of them Gracia had delivered her only biological child. She didn't know much about the event because Edward and Alphonse weren't eager to tell about it and Hughes… He just never brought it up.

The walls were full of paintings and photographs. Hawkeye knew Gracia loved decorating and her husband had given her all rights to do what she wanted in their home. The house itself held a very warm atmosphere and welcomed everyone into it.

At the end of the room, against the wall the other side of which was the kitchen, stood a bookshelf. It wasn't full of books as most of people would have liked it but filled with photographs, all of them in frames. Some of the pictures were from earlier years such as Gracia's or Maes' childhood or their dating years. Nevertheless, most of the pictures were of the pair's children and the family all together.

Gracia didn't stop Hawkeye from investigating the memories. When she noticed the woman looking at a picture of Edward, she decided to speak up.

"It's been so long since he was here last time."

"It must have been difficult," The First Lieutenant turned her gaze to Gracia. The woman smiled unhappily and looked down at the white porcelain cup.

"Maes missed him the most. He stayed up late thinking if Edward was alright or what he had been doing by day. I know he trusts Havoc but one just can't help the parental feelings."

Hawkeye couldn't think of anything to say so she just let her gaze travel to the small table next to the book shelf. It held three pictures: The left side picture was from academy times, Hawkeye was sure. Hughes and Mustang were both smiling, no one could tell if they were drunk or not, and younger man had his arm across the other's shoulders. Hughes did the same but also flashed his thumb behind Mustang's back. The woman couldn't help smiling.

The picture on the right side was of the whole Mustang group in their military uniforms: Havoc, Hughes, Breda, Falman, Fuery, Mustang, herself and Armstrong from the Investigations department. She wasn't actually sure how Major had gotten into the picture. Truth to be told, she knew barely anything of him.

The last picture on the middle, behind the medals, was of Hughes in his military outfit.

"Don't tell him Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant were drinking while Ed was there sleeping," Gracia started.

"He would give them a lesson. Maes never drinks at home. In bar yes, but not here. That's one of the things I love about him the most. He's so devoted to children. Always thinks of them first. Sometimes I wonder if he loves them more than me."

She could hear the love Gracia held for her husband in the woman's voice and saw it in her warm, brown eyes as she thought of their moments together.

"It's just different kind of love," Hawkeye left the wall and sat down next to the woman. She couldn't even count all the times Hughes had told everyone how devoted he was to his wife. "You're the center of his life. You gave him a daughter and that just made the love deeper. Children always do."

Gracia seemed to believe her words for she nodded much more happily. Hawkeye bit her lip and she thought of something to say. There was something she wanted to talk about but wasn't sure if it would be appropriate: they weren't actually the best of friends. The woman might also be in a very fragile state considering what happened to her husband but she decided to give it a try.

"You must have been shocked when... it... happened"

The woman didn't turn to look at her. Instead she lowered her head and her eyes filled with sadness as if the whole situation had been her fault.

"I had been expecting something to happen," Gracia said quietly. "I usually got between them when Maes' patience was growing thin but at that time I thought it would just be a stupid little quarrel, Edward would be pissed off for some time and things would become normal again. Apparently I was wrong."

Hawkeye nodded and decided to ask some other thing she had heard.

"I have heard that Edward's puberty is pretty difficult."

This time Gracia looked at her and was now genuinely smiling. "A bit more difficult maybe but he's still a sweet boy. He and Maes are against each other a lot but they have just as much good moments. They have spent many times together just talking, about what happens to boys when they grow up. It's so sweet."

Gracia stood up and walked to the book shelf and picked up a framed picture.

"This was taken-" the woman walked back to Hawkeye and gave the picture to her," in July, I think. You have to ask Maes, he remembers each of these pictures."

The photograph had been taken in a park, or at least it looked like it. Hughes and Edward both were in normal clothes. Hughes wore black trouser and a purple shirt and was giving the boy a piggyback ride. Edward was wearing jeans and white, loose- fitting t-shirt. He was not wearing gloves which caused the automail ankle and most of the right arm to be visible but neither seemed to be caring about it.

Hawkeye couldn't help looking at the picture. It seemed to be the one thing that proved all of her suspicions to be false.

"Hughes certainly loves him."

Gracia, who had sat down next to her, looked at the picture also. "Yes, he does. Not counting the looks, anyone would think they're biologically connected. I'm sure this whole thing was partly a reason why Maes got that seizure or whatever it was."

Her voice quieted down in the end of the sentence and she covered her mouth to keep from falling apart. Hawkeye was gentle enough to keep her eyes in the picture and let the other have some privacy.

"I'm sure everything will turn out to be just fine in the end," Gracia said, trying to assure the both of them. "By what Maes has told me, Edward has began to forgive him and I think that this thing just helps everything to clear out."

"You're right," Hawkeye nodded.

...

...

...

When Edward woke up in the morning, he couldn't remember why he felt so anxious. Then all the memories from yesterday rushed back to him like a tsunami. He grasped the cover tightly and drew it over his nose. He took in a deep breath and prepared to face the familiar smell he had smelt everyday for the past week.

What he smelt was a clean cloth, but there was still something familiar in it. He couldn't smell cigarette scent or any of those other things Havoc smelled like.

The yellow eyes opened in a split second and the boy sat up. He looked around the room and recognized it immediately: this was his bedroom.

Edward noticed nothing had been changed; the bed was in the same place on the left side of the desk which stood in front of the window. The curtains were the same blue ones, and all the papers and books were in their places.

The opposite wall was full of papers which held various alchemy symbols and transmutation circles. The wardrobe was located closest to the door; it was full of normal, everyday clothes Gracia and Hughes had bought him hoping he would like them.

The room was so much like him, mostly because Edward had been given permission to decorate it himself. He didn't care about keeping it clean although Gracia forced him to hoover it every Friday.

The boy drew the cover away slowly and noticed, to his great horror, that his clothes had been changed. What had happened? He remembered having taken most of his clothes off at Havoc's but he had not changed into pajamas.

Edward looked to his left and saw his clothes on the wooden chair beside the desk. Who had taken them away? What had happened?

Still in shock, the boy stood up and hurried the stairs downstairs. He wandered to kitchen and saw Gracia and Elysia beside the table. The woman wore white trousers that gave away most of her amazing figure and black top with white woolen jacket. She was already wearing makeup and her hair was perfectly in place. All in all, the woman looked ready to go to meet Fuhrer if the invitation came.

"Good morning, Edward," Gracia smiled genuinely and stopped eating her porridge. She stood up to meet the boy's confused gaze.

"Morning," He muttered surprised and looked around the kitchen. "How did I end up here?"

"Hawkeye brought you, I don't think you remember. You were practically sleeping on your feet."

"Has there been-?"

The woman shook her head, sadness filling her eyes. Suddenly Edward felt sorry for her, but also felt guilty in his own part.

"The doctors said it's likely he will return to his normal self, but he still needs a lot of rest. I and Elysia are going to see him today."

"Okay," Edward lowered his gaze sad. The woman walked up to him and hugged him warmly.

"I can't thank you enough, Edward. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened."

Edward felt the familiar burning in his eyes and wrapped his arms around the woman who was so much like his own mother.

"This is all my fault," He said in a broken voice. Gracia didn't draw away from the hug but tightened her hold of the boy and whispered soothing voices to his ear.

"Edward, you must not do that. This has nothing to do with you. Whatever Maes had, you didn't cause it."

"I just feel so guilty," Edward whispered and pressed his face into the woman's chest. They stayed like that for a minute, consoling each other.

"Now," Gracia took the boy's face into her hands, wiping the trails of tears away with her thumbs. "Go and take a shower and change your clothes. You know where to find them."'

Edward nodded a bit, and Gracia smiled sweetly. Suddenly, a brown haired little girl grabbed the boy's leg.

"Ed niisan!" Elysia cried happily. The girl was wearing a pink t-shirt, green dress and white stockings. She was bouncing up and down next to the boy.

"You came back, you came back!" The girl hugged the boy around the legs excitedly, and earned a hug herself.

"For a while, yeah," Edward nodded, not wanting to make the girl sad. He thought it was better not to tell the girl the truth. She was still so young and innocent- she wouldn't understand. Edward himself had missed Elysia lot, and was sure the feeling was mutual. Of course, the girl had many friends in the neighborhood but a sibling was always special: not only because brother or sister was always there but because of the many things they shared that created a tight bond of companionship.

"Come on!" The girl pulled the boy's hand to get him to follow her.

...

Edward played with his sister for couple of hours. They drew pictures and played with dolls. He even let the girl make his hair up and use her imagination freely, without cutting, of course. He couldn't bear losing a strand of his hair.

Elysia stood on a brown, wooden stool like a professional hair stylist, and held comb on her right, and pink ribbon on the other. Edward sat on the floor legs crossed and didn't seem to be noticing anything. Occasionally Elysia would ask simple questions like "How's your family?" that she had heard hair stylists use. The boy would only make a soft sound in his throat and swim in his thoughts.

He had to see Hughes, he had to explain and apologize. Edward grimaced at the thought; he could never apologize to anyone. Even getting the words out of his mouth was too much. Of course, he could apologize insincerely, but when he had really done something wrong and hurt somebody's feelings, then it was impossible to express in those three words how regretting he felt.

He could remember one time when he had really hurt Colonel's feelings. He had been twelve and still couldn't understand, or remember in what way he had insulted the man. The only things he could remember was that Havoc had threatened him with a gun to get him to apologize. He had been so scared that the man would really shoot him that he had started to cry. Both the men thought it was his way to say "I'm sorry" and the whole incident had been long forgotten.

"Now, it's ready," Elysia exclaimed and drew her hands in the air. Edward took the mirror from beside him and looked at his reflection. The girl had tied his hair into a ponytail, but because she was not very strong, the ribbon was hanging very low. To cover up the fact, the girl had put many butterflies and flowers into his hair.

"This is great, Elysia," Edward said and was grateful that Hughes was not home to take pictures. "Listen, play on your own for a while, okay. Nii-san has to do something on his own."

"Okay," the girl nodded and sat on to the floor and took her pencils.

Edward smiled at the sight and closed the door behind him. He hurried the stairs downstairs. He had to be quick if he wanted his plan to work out.

"Gracia, I'm going for a walk," He called the woman as he put on his shoes. Now, when not under heavy medicament, the task was much easier than in the evening.

Gracia came from the kitchen and nodded. "Okay, but don't be long. And remember to take your scarf and hat, it is going to be a cold day."

Edward nodded and took the said items out of the closet, bid his farewell and closed the door.

...

...

There was one thing Edward did not trust: buses. He couldn't explain why; they were just big cars that could absorb a lot of people. Maybe his aversion to them had been born when he had heard Breda complain about them always being late on schedule.

He had rode those a handful of times, and found them always full of people. So was today, as he stepped into one in his red winter jacket, not his regular one. He had been lucky that the right bus had come nothing but two minutes after he had arrived at the bus station.

He dropped the right amount of money to the money box and got a ticket. He began to wander forward and tried to find a place to sit. Soon enough he noticed that all of the places had been taken by older people and couple of younger children had occupied some also. Edward looked above him and saw the handles that adults hold on to; he was way too short to reach them. When finding no other way, he put his hand on one of the benches to keep in balance.

He had no problem when the car was moving but when it stopped to take more passengers, the laws of physic proved Edward's efforts to be in vain. First he leaned back to try to keep standing upright but then, all of the sudden, the force sent him forward. He fell onto the floor on his stomach with a loud "THUD".

Everyone, even the driver looked at his direction. They had noticed a little boy alone in the vehicle and had decided to keep an eye on him.

Edward stood up with the help of some kind man, who wiped the dust of the front of his jacket with his hand.

"You can take my seat if you want. My stop is the next," the man smiled at him. He was in forties and had a brown hair, dark eyes and thin, brown moustache. The man looked vey educated and intelligent and a leader person. The boy thought he could very well be working in a bank, the man's suit was very expensive.

"Thanks," Edward smiled a bit embarrassed and sat down on to the seat. He sighed inwardly for the wonderful feeling.

"So," the man took leaned to the seat like Edward had before. "May I ask you where you are going?"

Edward hesitated for a split second; Hughes had warned him not to talk to strangers, no matter how good persons they seemed like.

But still, maybe Hughes's advices weren't so good if they led the man to the hospital.

"I-," Edward started but stopped for a second. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

He could feel Hughes smiling somewhere and clapping is shoulder.

"Ah," the man nodded understanding. "At least you have caring parents. That one is a very good advice. You're a smart little boy."

"Who are you calling smart?" Edward hissed, eyes squirting with anger. The man just laughed.

"Oh, you're that kind of a kid. Wait- wait," he stopped his laughing and looked at the boy puzzled. "Are you the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

The bus came to a stop. Edward stared at the man, not knowing what to say.

"Isn't this your stop?"

The man left the car, but remembered to wave him as he went and blink one of his eye lids.

Edward wasn't sure if the man had understood him or not.

...

...

The hospital was full of people. The cheap chairs were all occupied, and the cheap tables had newspapers and tabloids on them. The wall were white and full of posters about phone numbers and advices about poisoning, mental problems, burn outs and Edward even recognized one that taught the right way to perform CPR.

"Excuse me," He walked to the woman who seemed to be the one in charge of visitors. She was old and had dry, brown hair tied on a bun. She wore white, traditional nurse dress.

"Yes, dear," she looked at the boy suspiciously, like not believing her eyes.

"I'm looking for Maes Hughes. Can you please-"

"I'm sorry, dear, but visiting hours haven't started yet."

Edward put his hands on the disk. "But he is my father!" He insisted and tried to make himself look as young as possible. He had travelled a long way to the hospital; he was not giving up easily.

The woman sighed a bit and turned to a much younger woman behind of her.

"Do you know anything about that military guy that was brought here?"

"That handsome man?" The young nurse blushed and nearly dropped the papers she was wearing. Edward slammed his head to the desk: this was not something he wanted to see. Okay, even he could see Hughes was quite good looking for a man, but the reaction the nurse gave was too much.

The elderly woman seemed to think the same as the boy.

"Yes, well, this," she pointed to Edward who raised his gaze, "is the son of ´that handsome man´."

The nurse's smile dropped immediately and she looked like having been thrown out of her wonderland.

"If I heard right, they are performing some tests on him right now."

"So I have to wait for the visiting hours," Edward lowered his gaze; there went his chance to talk with Hughes alone. He thanked the women and walked out of the doors to the cold autumn air. The sky was grey once again and the wind was blowing heavily. He positioned his red hat properly onto his head and tightened his white, woolen scarf around his neck.

He walked to the nearest station and moved his forefinger along the schedule. His eyes widened with shock: the next bus wouldn't come in two hours!

The road was long: If he walked, it would take one and a half hours at least. He would be so late for dinner. Gracia would get worried, and then he would be in trouble.

Without wasting another moment, the boy began to rush back.

...

...

If Edward thought he would get back to the house without Gracia noticing, he was completely wrong. When he turned the key in the lock, he could see the woman standing there, arms on her hips, looking at him sternly.

"O-ou."

Gracia smiled unhappily. "You're completely right. Where have you been?"

"On a walk," the boy lowered his head and attempted to do his best puppy dog eye look that the woman would not be so angry at him.

"You were gone for three hours. I was worried sick!"

"I'm sorry," Edward said sincerely and felt even worse than he already did when noticing glittering in the woman's eyes. She had not been lying. "I won't do it again."

Gracia nodded and stepped aside to let the boy in.

"Elysia and I already ate the dinner but I saved some for you."

"Thanks," Edward said and took of his jacket and shoes and other outdoor clothes. He felt touched by the care Gracia showed towards him: she made sure he had dry and clean clothes and that there was enough food for everyone. She even saved it for later, not caring about the trouble it caused her.

"She is a real mother," the boy whispered and felt tears starting to form painfully into his eyes. He shut his eyes tightly and forced himself to think of something else. There was no need to cry. He had only gotten what he deserved.

He walked to the kitchen and stopped for a moment. Havoc was sitting on one of the chairs. There was a cup of coffee in front of him. The man himself looked worn out: he had bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess. Truth to be told, Havoc's hair was always a mess but in a stylish way, now it just looked like a bird's nest.

Still, the man managed a small smile as the boy sat down opposite him.

"Hey there, runt."

"Same to you, drunk," Edward answered quietly, not noticing the man's word for "short".

The Second Lieutenant leaned closer to the boy.

"Ed, I'm terribly sorry for what happened. Usually I don't lose my control with drinking."

"It's okay, Hawkeye was over-reacting," Edward said quietly. He was not sure if Gracia knew what had happened but he didn't want to take any risks.

"No, she wasn't. I should have stayed sober with you being there. What if something would have happened?"

Immediately after saying it, the man put a hand on his forehead and closed his eyes tightly.

"A bad hangover?" Edward asked not feeling too much compassion for the man.

"Yeah, but not as horrible as Colonel has but I think he'll live. There was so much noise in the bathroom this morning," Havoc laughed bitterly. "Half-dead couldn't manage to do so."

Gracia set a bowl of vegetable soup in front of the boy.

"Eat well, and then we can go to the hospital."

Edward nodded and took the spoon into his left hand.

"Where is Elysia?" He asked as he lifted the spoon full of soup and blew into it.

"In her room."

The boy nodded again. Havoc leaned closer to him; he could tell Edward was hiding something.

"Havoc," the boy started quietly, not looking the man in the eyes. "I have to tell you something."

"Okay."

Looking over his shoulder to the kitchen, Edward made sure Gracia was not listening. The woman seemed to be doing something.

"I- I know I shouldn't have but- I went to the hospital. They didn't let me see Hughes so-"

"Edward Jonathan Elric, am I hearing right?"

The boy gulped as the woman came to the room even more furious than she had previously been.

"Gracia," Havoc lifted his hands in an attempt to make peace. "It's no big deal."

"Be quiet!" Gracia snapped to the man who immediately lowered his hands. The boy slid lower in his seat as idf it would ease the woman's fury. " Edward, I'm very disappointed in you. I told you before that hospital has visiting hours and we must obey them. You can be grateful if I'll even let you come along after this."

"But-"¨

"No buts!"

The woman went back to the kitchen but still looked at the boy disapprovingly behind her shoulder. Edward was quiet for a moment; he had never seen Gracia so angry before. The last time he had seen the woman with so much energy in her had been the night Elsyai had been born.

The boy looked at Havoc who shook his head and took a sip of his drink.

Edward lowered his gaze and went on eating.

...

...

...

Another trip to the hospital was, if possible, even worse than the first one. First they had to wait for five minutes until the receptionist was free to help them. It was the very same woman that Edward had met in the morning. She eyed Edward not-so-pleased. The boy tried to make himself as invisible and possible.

He wished that Havoc had come with them but the man was waiting outside. Havoc was so tall and muscular that he could have easily hid behind the man's back. Something about the lady's gaze was making him nervous.

"You'll only get what you deserve," Havoc had waved his hand smirking, when he had asked him to come along. Not even his best puppy dog eye look had gotten the man change his mind. Edward guessed that the man was a natural older brother type who could easily ignore such things.

Still, at that moment, he thought that the man was just cold-hearted and loved to see him suffer.

Finally they made it to the ward where Hughes was said to be. Outside the room there stood the doctor.

Edward guessed he was about the same age as Falman. The man wore the standard white doctor jacket and black slacks. His hair was something between grey and white. Worry lines decorated the man's forehead and made him seem wise and kind-hearted.

"Good afternoon," the man smiled at the three of them and offered his hand to Gracia. She shook it as he presented himself.

"I'm Doctor Jameson. You must be his wife."

Gracia nodded managing to form a smile onto her lips. "Yes, I'm Gracia Hughes and these are our children. Or actually two of them," She corrected waving her hands to Edward and Elysia. The boy looked at the woman astonished. This was the first time he had heard either of the Hughes' call him their son.

He couldn't tear of his eyes of the woman, not until he heard a male voice call his name.

"Edward, did you fall asleep?"

The boy blinked and seemed to wake up from his thoughts.

"Sorry," he said ashamed and scratched the back of his head. The doctor didn't seem to care that he had not been listening to his words. Apparently the man was used to people not understanding his speeches.

"I heard that you were the one who found your father."

Edward didn't care to correct everything the doctor had just said so he just stuck to the most important fact.

"I was with him when it happened," He lowered his hand and looked the old man straight into his brown eyes. His own yellow eyes widened with sadness as he remembered the moment.

Doctor Jameson glanced at his papers and nodded: "Did you notice anything weird about him?"

"Well, he said he had a headache. Then he seemed to lose his balance, like he was dizzy. "

"You know, I would have liked to talk to you yesterday but no one knew where you were."

"He was too shocked," Gracia raised her hand to silence the man. "Edward needed his rest."

The doctor nodded clearly understanding. He motioned them to follow him to the room. There were people on both sides of the room, five in a row. Some beds had white curtains around them to give some privacy. Edward let his eyes travel around the room and looked at the other patients: a man just next to the door had a nasty wound on the forehead and seemed to be sleeping. To Edward, he seemed to be dead.

On the left side, there laid a woman in the third bed. Her arm was covered in bandages but she smiled warmly at the sight of children coming in. He quickly turned his gaze away and gulped. None of the people in the room had any serious injuries but even being in the hospital made him feel sick.

"How are we doing today?"

Edward noticed others had already reached the end of the room. They were around the last bed on the left. Curiously he walked a bit closer but then stopped.

Hughes was lying on the white sheets, under the white cover. He wore the same hospital cloth Edward wore at least seven times in a year, and Edward sighed relieved. He got into a hospital so often he knew that there were different clothes for serious and not so serious cases.

The thing Hughes was wearing, green shirt and pants, was for the latter.

Yet, there were machines around the man. The boy only recognized EKG- monitor and IV, but others looked familiar also, like the thing that was on Hughes's left hand's forefinger.

Hughes answered the man's question by lifting his left hand.

"I'm going to live," he smiled weakly. "Right?"

"You most certainly are," the doctor nodded assuring his patient. He put the papers in front of his eyes again.

"We got your test results. Want to hear them?"

"I have nothing better to do."

The doctor began the list explaining everything the best he could. As interested in human anatomy as Edward was, he lost his skill to concentrate and focused his eyes on Hughes. The man looked weary and somehow different. The boy frowned: Was he only thinking of the man differently now?

Then it struck him like lighting from the sky- Hughes was not wearing his glasses. They were lying on the small table next to the man's bed. Edward had become so used to spectacled Hughes that he couldn't even imagine him not wearing them. But… could he even see without them?

"All in all," The doctor looked at Hughes ," you're going to need lot of rest, no kind of stress for some time or you might not be so lucky next time."

The man nodded stroking his two year-old daughter's hair but then bent his neck to look at Edward. The boy was standing in the middle of the room like his feet had been nailed to the floor.

"Gracia," Edward heard the man say but then he quieted his voice down so much his words became nothing more than buzz.

"Elysia," Gracia took her daughter's hand. "Let's go to the cafeteria and get us something to eat."

"But I want to stay with Daddy!" The girl protested, grapping her father's left hand like it was her favourite teddy bear.

"Go on, sweetie," Hughes said. "Daddy wants to talk with Ed- Niisan. "

Tears formed into Elysias's eyes but she let go and took her mother's hand instead. Hughes ruffled the girl's hair smiling and nodded to the doctor who left also. Edward noticed that the old man glanced at him quite intensively before leaving the room. Edward knew what he looked at: his pupils.

No one was sure why he had yellow eyes. He remembered visiting a military doctor who had wanted to make him go through various tests if there was something seriously wrong with his eyes. Some people he had met had even suggested he would lose his eyesight.

"Ed."

Hughes propped himself up against the pillows but then put a hand onto his forehead and lowered his head.

This got Edward to walk to the man as quickly as he could without starting to run.

"Take it easy," he supported the man from his shoulder. Concern was tick in the boy's voice and it caused Hughes to shake his head.

"This is nothing to worry about, only a low blood-pressure."

The man sighed and rested himself properly. Sitting there, he inspected the boy's face and felt something painful in his heart. Edward looked tired, worried and ready to burst into tears.

"Kiddo," He gently touched the boy's cheek with his right hand. Edward put his own, gloved flesh hand over it lowering his gaze.

"You must have been terrified."

The child couldn't make himself to face the man. "I'm just so tired," he whispered and felt himself being pulled to the bed next to the man.

"I know," Hughes said as he guided the boy to lie down next to him. The man turned his back to the other people in the room and drew the boy closer to him. "I'm tired too. Let's just start again from the beginning, okay?"

Edward nodded and relaxed a bit as Hughes stroked his hair.

"Why aren't you wearing them?" The boy looked his father-figure in the eyes.

"What?" The man raised his eyebrow.

"Your glasses. "

"Oh," Hughes nodded slowly. "I only need them for distances. I can see you perfectly well. "

"Everyone can see us."

Frowning a bit, Hughes looked over his shoulder and saw that the boy was right: everyone had been watching them.

He had been in the investigations department long enough to notice things that others usually missed. Even now, while being recovering, he could catch the signs. Everyone was either reading something, or looking at the wall or pretending to be asleep.

As much as he wanted to, Hughes did not send evil glares towards the other patients, only asked Edward to move the curtain.

"I would do it myself but I'm a bit stuck here now," He motioned to all the wires connected to his body.

Edward seemed to notice them also and jumped up from the bed.

"Are you crazy?" He hissed through clenched teeth, fists tightly against his sides like a little child having a tantrum. The only thing that was missing was kicking of foot.

Hughes's face became stern for a while. "Edward, you needed it," he said in a low voice that left no room for arguing.

The boy breathed heavily for a moment but then began to calm down.

"Besides," Hughes smiled when he thought the moment was right. "Aren't we all a bit insane?"

Those words of wisdom left the boy quiet. He had figured a long time ago that Hughes was not an ordinary person. At first there had been a kind and brave Military Officer who was always ready to help anyone who needed someone. Then came countless pictures and hours of bragging: that Hughes was impossible!

Major Maes Hughes was complicated. Edward thought that there was no one that could ever get the true picture of him. No one but Hughes himself would ever get to know the inner man within the body.

They looked at each other for a while and then Hughes opened his arms.

Without saying a word, Edward hugged the man around the neck. He closed his eyes as Hughes drew his own arms around him carefully, making sure IV would not get tangled.

The boy pressed his forehead and eyes against Hughes's shoulder.

While standing there, Edward came to a realization that even if he would never get to know the true Hughes, this one was good enough. His heart told him that this one was his real father: the one that cared for him and would see him grow up to an adult.

The boy smiled a bit: This Hughes was his and no one would take him away nor would he ever leave. He was sure of that.

...

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...

**A/N:** Was this chapter too long, in WORD, it took 24 pages. This seems like a perfect place to end the wole story but there is more to come! I hope, I'm not sure when I'll get it written. My muse is so... unbalanced.

Now, all of my reviewers: Do you have any suggestions? I really need suggestins and reviews, they help me to update faster. All kinds of suggestions are allowed: from "Edward eating peanut butter" to "Hughes killing himself". Anything, I repeat, anything is allowed! Do not be afraid or ashamed, I won't judge anyone! I, of course , will take the right to use the sugestions in my story. I might change them to fit the plot better, so if you don't want you ideas to be changed, tell me.

So now, reviews, please =)


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again everyone! I was supposed to get this done yesterday, but I was too busy. Why? Because it was my birthday! Now I'm eighteen years old and officially an adult! **

**Thank you for all your amazing reviews: kate, Dzem, Romani-chan, Shikaate, Hyperthia, baconinthesoup64 and Fullmetal Muffins.**

**By the way, baconinthesoup64 gave me critic and I was thrilled to answer: I tried to reflect that Edward is only fourteen and that he trusts Hughes with all his heart. The man has always been kind to him, as we can see in the series, so hitting would be very unlike Hughes. For that Edward would be scared.  
Everyone always describe Ed as angry teen and wanted to show the other side of the boy.**

**That was pretty much what I wrote.**

**There is a new poll in my Author's page. Go and vote!**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 6

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A fourteen-year old boy knelt down in front of a blue, plastic box that contained various files, each keeping papers for separate cases in their proper order. He took a few of them and stood up opening one of the boxes in the big, wooden chest of drawers. He pushed the name part of each file in the box a bit forward and tried to find the right place for all of the pieces of carriage resting against his automail arm.

Suddenly he started to hymn to himself as quietly as possible. Still, the only occupant in the room raised his gaze from the documents he was signing, and smiled.

"What is that song?" Havoc set down his pen and leaned back against the chair, putting his hands behind his neck to complete the laid-back look.

Edward turned around at the voice and smiled sheepishly.

"I don't know," he tried to push his bangs behind his ear but failed. His hair was way too tick and soft to get it to stay in order without some special products. "I heard it in the radio last night."

The man nodded his head couple of times understanding. "Oh, so that is where all that noise came from! I thought you were speaking to yourself!"

"I don't do that; I may be a bit crazy but not like that."'

"Whatever," Havoc waved his hand to end the starting fight. Then he frowned. "Why were you up last night anyway?"

At that, the boy immediately turned around and started to organize the files.

"I couldn't sleep," he said as if it was not a big deal. He took another file from his arm and started to look for a place for it.

Havoc investigated the sight for a moment, worry slinking into his mind and voice.

"Is it about Hughes? Is he worse?"'

"No," Edward shook his head when his father-figure was now being discussed. It had already been three days since he had been allowed to visit the man for the first time. Since then, he had visited every day after work. The hospital had strict rules about visiting hours: three hours in the morning and same in the evening. Gracia and Elysia visited during mornings so Edward had gotten the evenings almost all for himself.

He and Hughes had talked a lot about the past and the future; the man was feeling better and better very day and could even take short strolls in the hospital garden. Mostly they stayed inside because of the poor weather and discussed everything from news to their holiday plans. It felt like they were trying to make up for the time they had been apart.

All the harsh feelings Edward had had for Hughes were now completely gone; he was too grateful that the man was going to be fine to remember old things.

"He is actually better, he should be able to go home day after tomorrow."

Havoc drew his hands away from behind his neck and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Edward," he said using as much authority in his voice as he could. The boy turned around sensing he had to listen. "If you are not feeling well, you have to tell me. I can help you if you get sick or hurt yourself. I'm here for you, kiddo, you'll just have to ask me, okay? If you lock me out, you'll just hurt yourself more."

Edward nodded looking at the man, and Havoc was sure there was something wrong in the kid's gaze. It was like energy had been drained out of him. He leaned over the table, putting his hands on to the said piece of furniture.

"Remember: if you don't tell the people who care about you that are in need of help, you'll just make yourself feel worse."

Now the authority in his voice had been turned into softness; he wanted to make the boy understand he was not alone in life.

Edward's face was unreadable for a moment but when he started speaking, a stubborn look came to his eyes and his voice was strong.

"I have not locked you out of my life, Havoc. If I had, I hadn't come to you when I needed someone."

The boy breathed in, fisting his automail arm which was hanging against his body. It was clear he didn't like the conversation.

"I can ask for help!" Edward turned around, spitting the words out of his mouth like they were poison. Havoc couldn't remember the last time he had heard Edward speak so heavily without having to shout.

They were quiet for a moment.

"That song is quite popular, I'm sure you have heard it too."¨

Havoc was afraid he was pushing his luck when saying: "Do you remember any words?"

"No," the boy shook his head while still working. "The man who sang it had a rough voice. I never remember words, only the tune. If I ever heart it again, I'll recognize it."

Suddenly the boy put a hand onto his forehead and swayed when standing.

"Ed," Havoc stood up immediately, afraid the boy would fall and hurt himself. He put an arm around the child's shoulders, supporting him.

"Sorry," Edward shook his head while leaning into the man's touch. "I just felt dizzy."

"You have been up and going since dawn," the man took the files from the boy and guided him to sit on a chair. "No wonder if you feel weak."

As soon as the boy had steady wood under him, Havoc put his hand gently onto Edward's hair and guided the head downwards slowly, not to harass the circulation any further. At the same time, the man kneLT next to the boy examining his face with his eyes; the usually peachy skin was pale and the child was breathing heavily.

"Maybe you should take a break," he suggested as he touched the boy's forehead with his knuckles: he couldn't feel any change in the temperature but the skin was covered in sweat. "It's lunch time already."

"Okay," Edward nodded but swallowed heavily and made no move to stand up. He hadn't left the position Havoc had guided him into. The said man rubbed the boy's back trying to make the younger one feel better; Edward was still obviously feeling weak.

"I'll bring you something to eat. Stay here and rest, got it?"

"Roger that," the boy lifted his thumb and the man left, smirking at the gesture.

...

...

Not even two minutes after Havoc had left, Edward stood up carefully, taking support of the back of the chair. Dizziness had already gone away; there was no point in staying put. He knew Havoc was going to scold him later but the man would too relieved when seeing him feeling better to take things further. Besides, if he would just lie down every time he felt a bit woozy, he would have to stay in bed all the time! Adults always worked even when having various aches, why should he be any different.

The boy took one last breath to gather his strength and walked back to his current workplace. Taking new files from the box since he didn't feel like sorting the ones laying on the table just yet, he read the names printed on the top of the cover.

He managed to put half of his load in order when he suddenly felt nauseous. His eyes widened and he held his breath, and then began to breath in and out deeply; nausea was one of the symptoms of a panic attack so the advice he had been given by the doctors came in handy in these kinds of situations. The most important thing was to try to think of something else instead of the worst.

Edward swallowed frantically, trying to push the feeling away. He leaned against the chest of drawers ; the piece of furniture helped him stay upright. He experienced nausea occasionally but he never actually threw up, unless he ate those eggs served in the cafeteria. Aunt Pinako had warned him that the body with automails didn't react the same way aa a 'complete' body did. The boy had noticed the difference between those two: when he was a child, he didn't suffer from such a many health problems. Nowadays, if he didn't eat often enough, his body started to give up. Summers were the worst season; the heat caused even more stress to his body.

Then, to Edward's great shock, the world began to spin. His body fell forward but he got support from the open drawer box. His limbs, artificial and flesh ones were shaking and his head felt heavy. He gasped for air, trying to regain full consciousness. Edward knew he had to open the window to get some fresh air. If he only could get to the other side of the room, everything would be okay.

He let go of his support and began to take baby steps. Then, all of a sudden, his vision blurred and turned into a white mess. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body went limp with a one last sigh. The boy fell to the floor onto his stomach, his head hitting the hard material. The only sound heard came from the clock that counted the time before someone would find the unresponsive child. Nothing in the place had changed although the youngest State Alchemist was laying on the ground, out of the surrounding world.

After ten minutes of waiting in the line, Havoc finally could get lunch for both of them. He opened the office room's door, the food resting against his left arm.

"I brought you some apple juice and chicken salad," He said lowering the food onto the table and lifted his gaze to look at the boy. "No need to pay back-"

Edward was not sitting in the chair. Instead, he saw a pair of feet behind the table.

"Oh no," the man whispered and wound the table to get closer to the body. He kneeled next to the child: Edward was laying on his stomach, his head turned to his right side. The face held a peaceful look, as if the boy was only sleeping. And in a way he was.

Havoc took a hold of the boy's dark clothed shoulders and turned the boy onto his back. He was all dead weight, in a horrible kind of way.

"Edward," the man called and slapped the boy's cheek. "Ed, can you hear me?"

When the boy didn't wake up, Havoc opened the boy's black jacket and lowered his ear onto the small chest. He could clearly hear the young heart force blood into the boy's veins, and feel his head lower and rise in the rhythm of Edward's steady breathing.

The man felt a bit more confident as he straightened up and leaned over the unmoving body again.

"Edward," Havoc called like he had when trying to wake the boy up in the morning, and shook the boy's shoulders. "C'mon, wake up!"

He drew the same chair that Edward had sat on closer, and put the flesh leg onto his lap. He kept talking while pulling off the boy's shoe carefully, hoping it would help the boy regain consciousness. He lifted Edward's feet onto the chair to get blood flow to the brain and help the boy wake up. He didn't care to pull of the other shoe; automail leg was metal only up to the knee, the rest was normal. Still, the boy had less blood than normal humans did.

"C'mon, Edo," Havoc muttered and removed the white sock. He tapped the foot a couple of times; he knew it was a good way to find out if a baby was responsive. He also knew that it wouldn't do any good, but at this time, he was ready to try anything.

Havoc adjusted the feet better and rubbed the flesh leg to get blood flow better. "Wake up and open those beautiful eyes of yours."

For a moment, Edward gave no reaction. The boy just lay there limply, completely out of consciousness. Havoc moved a bit closer and took the pale face between his hands, slapping the cheek carefully.

"Edo," he repeated the boy's name numerous times in a soft, but loud tone. "Time to wake up."

It was only when Havoc was about to call an ambulance that Edward started to revive. The boy let out a soft sound; the man recognized it to be the same Edward gave every time he woke him up. That only was enough to send a jolt of relief through his heart.

Edward lifted his left hand clumsily and tried to get it onto his forehead, but failed miserably.

"Does your head hurt?" Havoc asked quietly, touching the said part of the body with his own hand. Edward stirred his eyes, and moved a bit as he nodded weakly.

The man petted the boy's hair carefully, and waited patiently that Edward would open his eyes. He didn't dare to move the boy from the floor until he was sure there was no further damage.

Finally, after what seemed like ten minutes, Edward's eyes were completely open, and his gaze diverted around the ceiling.

"Okay," Havoc muttered to himself as he took the boy's face into his hands again, and fixed the boy's orbs to look straight into his own.

"What is your name?" He started the questioning. In those First Aid Courses that were obligatory, they had been taught that whenever a head was hit onto anything, there was always a risk of amnesia or concussion. Neither was something Havoc wanted to deal with.

Edward though for a moment, his gaze on his side as his memory went through its various lockers in search of the needed information.

"Edward Elric," the boy returned his gaze to the man's eyes, answering in a weak tone like he had just been woken up from a deep sleep.

"Very good. Your age?"

"14."

"What day is it today?"

"Um…

"Okay, good enough," Havoc nodded, and slipped his left arm under the boy's knees and the right under his back. Edward grabbed his head again as he was being lifted to the couch.

"Ow…" He muttered while Havoc lowered him down and put a pillow under his head, supporting him from the back all the time.

"What happened?" The man asked as he laid the boy down again slowly to prevent him from passing out again.

"I don't know," Edward whispered rubbing his face. He was pale and sweating slightly. "I just started to feel dizzy."

That alarmed Havoc; by every standard, Edward should have been conscious when he had returned. Sitting was always a good solution for feeling faint. Maybe something was seriously wrong with the boy… Maybe the lack of air he had experienced in the elevator had injured his brain and that had caused the fainting. If so, he had to get Edward to a hospital as soon as possible.

Then, as Havoc stood up and began to massage his hair worriedly, thinking of the best solution his eye laid upon the spot Edward had been lying on. For a moment, he could only stare at it stunned, then, his eyes began to fill with fury and he fisted his hands.

"You began working again, didn't you?" His voice was quiet but it held a accusing tone; he had to be sure before going further.

"Yes…"

"I told you to stay still!" The man yelled turning around to face Edward; the boy jumped on the couch at Havoc's expression and the volume of his voice. "You were not well, it was showing miles away!"

"I'm sorry," The boy began, trying to calm his friend down, but Havoc took none of it.

"Do you enjoy this? Is it fun to make everyone worried?"

Edward couldn't answer. The boy bowed his head in shame, in an attempt to make Havoc less angry with him.

The man shook his head, not knowing what to say after he had lost his temper. He had to admit, Edward looked so guilty his anger burned out instantly. The boy must feel awful in a lot of ways; it wasn't every day he fainted. He had seen Edward faint only once before today; it had been summer and one of the hottest days of that season. It had also happened in the office room but otherwise it had been completely different. He had caught the boy before he had crashed onto the floor and it had taken nothing but a couple of slaps to the cheek to wake him.

How he needed a cigarette. He had thrown his old one away in the cafeteria, and now his nerves needed calming down.

His hands travelled to the inside pocket of his jacket but he forgot about it when the boy shivered slightly.

"Are you cold?" He asked. Edward lifted his gaze and looked into the man's eyes, but didn't get the chance to answer before a large hand came to rest onto his forehead.

Havoc kept it there for a moment, and then lowered his hand to the boy's cheek.

"You have a fever," The man sighed defeated. The one thing he had been trying to avoid had become reality.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop repeating that!" Havoc couldn't help a frustrated outburst as he stood up and walked to the table. He took the plastic bottle from the table and opened it.

"Here," he said in a much softer tone as he knelt down beside the piece of furniture and offered the drink. "This isn't as effective as water would be but it'll do."

Edward nodded wearily and took a tiny sip. His eyes were gleaming without their usual brightness. A shadow seemed to be looming over the boy; he could barely hold himself up as he sat while trying to drink.

Havoc shook his head worried while watching the pathetic sight in front of him; Edward wasn't himself at all.

"You can't stay here like this," He finally let out, voicing his thoughts and stood up, looking down at the small figure. "Can you stand?"

"I think so," The boy threw his legs carefully over the edge of the couch, still clutching the bottle in his hands. He took support of the couch with his automail hand while Havoc placed his own hands underneath his armpits and held him until the boy found his balance. Edward took a couple of baby steps and then widened them to normal.

Havoc, meanwhile, kept his eyes on the boy, but yet took a sheet of unused paper and a pencil.

"I'll write Mustang a note so he knows where we are," Havoc said from between writing words onto a white sheet of paper. After finishing, he folded it up, wrote something again, and then put a book onto one corner to keep the paper on the table.

"Okay," The man walked to the coat rack and took Edward's red winter jacket which was much warmer than the original one. The boy offered his hands and got the jacket onto himself with a bit of Havoc's help. Once his other outdoor clothes: hat, scarf and mittens were in place Havoc grabbed his own green jacket but didn't put it on. "Let's go now."

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...

Havoc knew Edward was a tough kid; very stubborn and determined. Yet, those qualities didn't include good immune system.

He wasn't sure if it was the automails and their habit of gathering warmth and cold that made the boy so weak. At summer, Edward always got sunstroke, and the parts of his body in which the automails connected with the skin got painfully burned. Winter was even worse; the boy was small and skinny for his age which made it easy for him to catch a flue. During that time of the year it was impossible to see the kid without him having a cold or just otherwise sneezing and coughing. Yes, Edward being sick was not uncommon.

While sitting there on the edge of his bed, drawing the covers onto the boy who lay on the mattress, it came to Havoc's mind this was the first time he actually been in charge of a sick child. His little sister had been his parents' responsibility, and Edward was always at Hughes's when being under the weather. Now there was no one else to help him.

"Just rest, okay," Havoc whispered to the boy, stroking his hair. Edward had gotten very tired and had nearly fallen asleep in the car but had somehow managed to stay awake. It was only when his head hit the pillow that sleep had taken him over. "I'll get you something to drink."

Kid didn't answer; he was laying on his left side wearing his blue pajamas, eyes closed, breathing evenly. The man stood up and noticed a bit of scarlet appear to the boy's face.

Whenever Edward had a fever, it usually rose up to 40 degrees in no time. That was why he had made sure the boy wore enough clothes and didn't go out when it was raining. Yet, the damp weather was difficult to avoid.

Havoc left the room and went to make some tea. He could only hope that everything would go smoothly.

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...

Next morning, Havoc was working in the kitchen, buttering numerous slices of bread and putting ham and cheese onto them. He made sure not to get his light-blue button up shirt smeared with the greasy ingredients, and had even left his working suit's jacket onto the couch.

When the simple but still delicious meal was done, the man put the sandwiches into a plastic box and closed it. He opened the fridge and found easily a spot for the food; he had to run by market after work.

Taking a white cup from the table, Havoc walked to the counter board to his brand new coffee maker. He had to admit, it was definitely worth all the trouble and money. However, there was a tiny suspicion triggering in the back of his mind that the gadget would break sooner or later; it was a wonderful excuse for him to use the machine every single day and try all those lattes and cappuccinos the directions praised.

He took the glass bottle and poured the energy-filled liquid into the cup and sipped. His tongue and cheeks, even gums felt to be enjoying the moment. This was maybe what his Mom meant with ´'the meaning of life'.

Loud coughing came from the bedroom.

Havoc rolled his eyes and sighed: "Yeah, the meaning of life, definitely."

Yet, he went to the direction of the noise and looked at the boy sitting on the bed.

"Didn't you take the medicine?" He asked, leaning to the frame and sipped his coffee. Edward fiddled with the blanket that was covering his pajama clad figure.

"It just came out of the blue," the boy said, trying to look as innocent as possible. Havoc made a mental note that the child's voice was slightly deeper than usually. He shrugged his shoulders and walked to the bedside table.

"That's not working, Ed," he put down the cup and opened the bottle on the table. It was made of dark, brownish glass and held a white etiquette telling the information about the use. As the can was removed, a strong smell forced its way into Edward's nostrils and he, by reaction, crawled closer to the edge of the bed.

"Alright then," Havoc took the spoon and filled it with the liquid; it was deep brown but shone in many shades of orange when meeting light. The man leaned closer to the child, making sure his hand didn't shake and pour all the medicine onto the sheets. Doing laundry wasn't exactly his favorite chore.

Edward's back met the wall and the boy shook his head.

"I don't need it."

"Edward. I understand your fear for doctors but medicine is not going to hurt you," The man explained calmly, not willing to give up.

"But it tastes ugly," The boy stated as if it would change everything. He pulled his legs closer to his body. "They always do!"

Havoc smiled; he was winning this fight. "This tastes like liquorice."

That was not enough to convince the boy; he just looked up at the man at the exact same way he always did when things didn't go as he wanted them to. : "You are lying. Hughes told me once that it tastes like pineapples and chocolate mixed together."

"Edward, I promise you this tastes wonderful. I can even take it myself, one sip will never hurt."

The boy pondered about it for a while and finally nodded and moved a bit closer.

"There you go," Havoc put the spoon into the boy's open mouth and waited for the reaction. There was no usual shutting of eyes and grimaces; what he met was surprised licking of lips. Edward seemed to have lost his ability to speak.

"I'm not the kind to lie, huh?" Second Lieutenant couldn't help smiling at the adorable sight and closed the bottle with a simple hand movement. He ruffled the boy's hair playfully with his right hand and went back to the kitchen; all he needed to do anymore was to put the medicine back into fridge and set his coffee cup to the dish basin.

"Okay," Havoc finally took his jacket from the couch and put it onto himself walking back to the bedroom.

"I made some sandwiches, they're in the fridge. And there's juice there too. Just heat up some water, okay? Take the medicine if you need it."

Edward laid back onto the bed and tried to put the covers better onto himself but Havoc signaled him to stay still and striped to the bedside. His hands took a hold of the edges of the cloth and he walked to the bed and stroked the boy's hair.

"I'll call you some time. Answer it, no matter how tired you are. I'll come by in the lunch hour. Call me if you start feeling worse."

"How can I call if I'm worse? What if I'm unconscious?" Edward joked but earned nothing but the man pinching his nose and twisting it slightly from side and side.

"Very funny," Havoc commented as the child smiled mischievously. He couldn't believe his luck; Edward was feeling much better already. All the horror stories he had heard hadn't come true. It seemed like he had to be doing something right. Maybe all that the boy had needed was a good night's sleep and some chicken-noodle soup for the breakfast.

Yeah, Havoc thought as he ruffled the boy's hair for the last time before leaving. It was all going just fine.

...

...

...

When the evening came, Havoc was mentally slapping himself. Edward's fever had risen up during the day and when he came back home, the boy was again in the border of unconsciousness. When he put a thermometer into the boy's mouth, he had to help the boy hold it in its place. Fever was even higher than it had been last night:

"39.5," Havoc had read the number quietly to himself and felt anxiety as a heavy burden in his chest.

The best way he could think to get the fever lower had been cold wrappings. The man had brought a bucket of cold water next to the spot where Edward laid, and wetted some cloths in the substance. Then he had wrapped one onto the boy's forehead, and covered his limbs with others. Havoc felt like it wasn't enough; a bathtub was probably the best way to bring the body temperature down but since he didn't own one, wrappings were the only option.

He took the cloths off when he decided to go to bed. Edward had already fallen asleep during the first process, obviously by the calming effect of the cold water. The boy was sleeping on his back, his head turned to his left side. He wasn't wearing any clothes besides his blue boxers.

Havoc drew the covers onto the top of the boy; the radio's weather forecast had estimated that the night would be cold. He didn't Edward to get any worse ill than he was now.

"Good night, kiddo," the man whispered and set a kiss onto the boy's temple.

...

The beginning of the night went smoothly for Havoc; he laid down next to the boy and was in sleep within minutes.

Then when the night was beginning to turn into morning, there was a loud noise of something shattering.

The man rubbed his eyes and then looked at the clock on his bedside table: 2.54.

He sighed and stretched his arms wide but then got alarmed when he didn't feel the usual figure on his left side. The man snapped his eyes open and turned to watch; Edward wasn't in the bed.

Havoc cursed under his breath and rose up quickly thinking of the worst possible options that could happen when the boy was in his state; he might be sleepwalking and have hit something or have collapsed when going to the bathroom.

All those worries flew away when he saw Edward on his knees half-naked on the kitchen floor. There were sharp and glittering objects in front of him: glass, Havoc noticed.

"I got thirsty," Edward said apologetically and looked up to the man's eyes.

Havoc kneeled to the boy's eye level, he felt now much calmer than when waking up, and put a hand onto the child's forehead; the fever had risen again.

"Go to rest," He sat a hand onto the bare shoulder. "I'll get you that drink."

"No, I'll clean this up," and with that, Edward clapped his hands together. A flash of blue light later, a glass was standing there as if nothing had happened.

Then, a shadow fell over Edward's eyes and the boy began to slip out of consciousness. He would have crashed right to the floor if Havoc hadn't caught him against himself.

"You moron," he swore as he gathered the boy into his arms. "You are in no condition to perform alchemy!"

But only his words were harsh. The man held the out-cold child gently against his body; one hand under the boy's thighs, the other around the back. Edward's hands were pressed against his chest, folded in two; they had never leaved the alchemy position. The skin was burning with fever.

Sighing heavily, Havoc stood up and began his way to the bedroom. He lowered the boy onto the bed and sat down next to the body. Havoc took a hold of the boy's wrist and felt for a pulse; it was quick but not life threatening. The whole arm itself was completely limp. Apparently the boy was unconscious.

Edward's face held scarlet color and he was sweating slightly. Breathing happened through soft inhales.

Havoc sighed deeply and took a rag from the bowl, wetting it with water. He could already feel weariness seek into his limbs: This was going to be a long night.

...

...

...

At the morning Edward was well again. Soon enough Havoc noticed the pattern; after sleeping, the fever was down and the boy was cheerful but as the hours went by, the temperature rose again.

Havoc felt himself become more and more tired all the time, and he knew the reason. Of course he like and cared about Edward a lot but he hadn't even thought the boy would stay with him for so long. Edward had a temper, but he usually calmed down very easily.

The boy had told him Hughes had already gotten out of the hospital. That had given the man some peace for a moment, but then remembered that the Major was still on a sick-leave for some time. Taking care of a child with variable fever was not something the man needed.

The nights were the worst because, at that time, the boy suffered from a high fever and hallucinations. The man had found no way to calm the boy down; cold bandages and soothing voices were in vain.

The only good thing about Edward at the moment was that the boy had no demands; he was happy with some sandwiches, juice and soup.

But the biggest reason his toleration of Edward went down to zero came through a telephone. He had been washing the dishes when the phone rang. Quickly, he dried his hand into a towel and hurried to the machine and quieted the sound.

"Havoc," he answered, trying to peek to the bedroom to make sure Edward was still sleeping.

"Hello, Jean," a female voice came through the receiver. "Do you still remember me?"  
He nearly fell over at sound of the familiar tone his name had been spoken in.

"Mary?" Havoc said quietly, remembering the charming woman with an amazing body. They had met in a bar in the summer, and the female had promised to call him. "I thought you had forgotten about me?"

The laughter he heard sounded like jingle bells, the ones people used at their weddings.

"Of course I haven't! You remember I told you about the job I got?"

"Yes," The man nodded, leaning against the wall while going through his memory. "The salary was very high."

"Indeed, but all the press conferences and that sort of things took so much time. I would have never had a chance to meet you again if I hadn't taken my old job back."

"Yeah, that's tricky- Wait! What?"

Now Havoc needed the wall for support, not for acting cool like had been his original plan.

"You- you gave up your job for me?"

"I-umm…was thinking that… "

The hesitation in Mary's voice was the encouragement for his next move. The man put on his best date look, and said: "Would you like to come to a restaurant with me to- shit!"

"What?" The woman asked quickly, thinking the man had hurt himself. Havoc rubbed his forehead, trying to come up with the best idea to explain the situation.

"Listen, Mary, I'm very glad you called me and I would love to go out with you instantly but it isn't possible, for some time that is."

"I understand. Well, call me when you're ready."

The man finished the call and rubbed his face hard as if to punish himself.

"Is something wrong?"

Havoc turned his head to the direction of bedroom; Edward was standing by the door looking at him puzzled. The boy's hair was a mess and the part of his face, nose and cheeks, which was not pale, held a scarlet color.

"No," he walked to the child, forcing his face neutral. There was no need to make the boy feel even worse than he did already. Yet, his expression changed tragically when he put his hand onto the boy's forehead and felt the heat.

"You're burning up," Havoc sighed frustrated and guided the boy to the couch.

"I'm sorry I'm such a burden," The boy's voice was rash and coughing followed the sentence. The man laid the child carefully down and drew a blanket over his form. He didn't say anything: Edward was a lot of trouble, he had to admit it, but there was no way he was going to admit it to Edward. The boy was feeling bad enough already even without being blamed for him staying single.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Followed by Edward's surprised gaze, Havoc stood up and walked to the door. His imagination took him over and he had all kinds of fantasies about Mary looking up his address and coming to visit him. Yet, in the back of his mind, the man knew it was not likely to happen.

But the person he saw when he opened the wooden door, was a pleasant surprise.

"Hey, you're up already!"

Hughes just nodded smiling, hands in his pockets. He was wearing black jeans, and a long, also black overcoat, and brown shoes.

"Yeah," the man confirmed, looking a lot better than the last time Havoc had seen him. "Got out yesterday, decided to come and see the little apple of my eye."

The younger man waved his head to the direction of the couch. Hughes opened his jacket a bit, revealing a well-fitting, black long-sleeved shirt. Whole man seemed to be more serious underneath that kind smile he wore; Havoc assumed that unexpected illness tend to do that to people.

As soon as Hughes saw Edward curled up on the couch, he quickened his pace and knelt next to the child.

"You poor thing," the man whispered checking temperature from forehead, neck and cheeks. "You must be feeling awful."

Edward nodded which was very unlike him; usually he hid his feelings and moods from everyone around him. Havoc decided to make himself useful and walked past the pair to the kitchen and took out three cups.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"Tea rather, please," Hughes lifted his gaze. "The doctor said I should avoid caffeine for some time."

He opened the cupboard and chose vanilla flavor for them. After filling silver colored pot with water and positioning it onto the stove, he glanced from the corner of his eye to the man and the boy behind him.

Hughes was telling something to the boy who was listening carefully, like fever had weakened his hearing and he had to be more concentrated than usually. The dark-haired man lifted the blanket off the boy and then put it better around the form; more tightly so that the patient wouldn't be affected by the cold September air.

Watching the scene, Havoc couldn't help feeling jealous; Hughes got so well along with Edward and the boy told him everything, it seemed. That man didn't get tired of the boy, nor did he blame him for anything. Of course, Edward got onto his nerves occasionally, Havoc was sure of that; the boy was a teenager after all, and those were always rebelling against authorities and older people. But Hughes had Gracia, and together they were able to keep Edward in control.

Loud coughing got him startled; Edward was still laying curled up, making a high-pitched, dry sound from his throat. The boy began to sit up with the help of his arms and Hughes, probably out of pity and instincts, supported him from his back.

"I think we could use that drink now," The man managed a humored smile and then turned to the boy, rubbing his small back while he kept coughing, flesh hand covering his mouth. After a minute, his breathing started to even and he swallowed frantically to get his throat damp again.

"There you go," Havoc offered him a blue mug full of white substance. Edward took it into his hands carefully, shaking a bit for the sudden weight. He managed to get the drink to his lips and some of it down his throat but then the heat forced him to lower the extra weight. He coughed again and placed the mug to the floor, where Hughes took it and placed onto the living room table.

"You should drink with that kind of a fever," the man couldn't help scolding as the child lay down again. Watching the scene for a minute, Hughes rolled his eyes and sighed deeply.

"How has he been?" The older man rubbed his forehead like he was having a headache.

Havoc shrugged and sat onto the end of the couch and looked at Hughes down to the floor.

"All in all, he has been unusually quiet and well behaving."

That got a laugh out of the older man: "My, that's new! I wish he was like that more often."

"It's not funny."

"Yeah," Hughes waved his right hand while the other held the mug. "I know."

Dark haired man sipped his drink again, savoring the sweet taste, and enjoyed the quiet moment. It was clear he was in peace and at that phase in his life, he didn't need much to feel like that. Even being without all the concerned gazes looking down at him was enough for him.

"Has he had any ghost-pains?"

Havoc was surprised by that kind of a question. He looked at the older man yearning for explanation, but Hughes was concentrated looking down to his drink. He thought for a moment of the past few weeks and then had to shake his head.

"No, or at least I have not noticed."

Something in Hughes's eyes changed; pity seemed to fill them but Second Lieutenant just couldn't understand the reason why.

"You would have unless you completely ignored him."

"I have not-"

"I'm not blaming you for anything, okay. I'm just worried and-"

Major rested his right elbow against his drawn up knees and massaged his forehead with his hand. His whole expression was filled with concern and isolation.

"Sorry," Jean whispered although he knew no reason why he should say it. The other man just waved the same hand and sipped his drink again; this time the cup went empty.

"Well," Hughes said all too brightly considering his previous state. The man stood up with the same enthusiasm that lingered around him all the time. "I guess I better be going; Gracia promised to make pork cribs and I just love those!"

Edward, who had been quiet and seemingly asleep during the whole conversation, opened his eyes at the sentence and sat up hurriedly. Hughes noticed this and turned his attention to the child.

"Hughes," the boy started; his voice was rough and he coughed a bit to make it clearer. "Can I go home with you?"

The next moment Edward felt two pairs of eyes staring at him but all he could see was the dark haired man in front of him. He didn't blink his eyes and so water filled them and made him look even more miserable; he had learned that it was a perfect way to get what he wanted. His Mom had almost never fallen for that but many Military Personals, mostly women, just couldn't stand a child looking at them with big, beautiful eyes. It had given him many privileges, at least until Hughes and Mustang had found out about it and forbad him from doing so anymore.

Havoc turned his gaze from the boy to Hughes who seemed to be in loss for words. Then, his face melted into a soft smile.

"Of course you can, anytime you want. It's nicer to be sick at home anyway."

Edward's face lit up but the boy didn't do any move to get up.

"You know what," Havoc said to Hughes who turned his gaze into the younger man. "I'll pack his things, I know where they are, and you put some warm clothes onto him."

"Serves me fine," Hughes shrugged but couldn't hide his happiness.

Soon enough Havoc had found a pair of jeans and a sweater to put onto Edward, and as he organized the boy's few belongings, Hughes helped the boy dress. The black sweater was very soft and easy to put on but the lower part didn't agree with wearing anything other than pajama pants. The boy complained his feet hurt and that the insides of his bones seemed to have turned into ice.

"I know," Hughes nodded while putting white socks onto the boy's feet. "Just try to hold on until we get home, okay."

"I think here is everything," Havoc walked to the pair carrying a brown suitcase with him.

"Even his medicines?" The older man inquired. "It's usually the most important things that tend to be forgotten."

"They're on top," The Second Lieutenant answered feeling emotionally hurt. How dumb did the man think he was? Who had successfully taken care of Edward because of Hughes's own mistake?

But all those thoughts were soon being thrown away from his mind as his eyes fixated onto the boy who was trying to stand up. Hughes took a hold of the boy's left arm and right shoulder, supporting him from behind. Edward didn't even step before he let out a half sigh, more like a pant, and grabbed his head, eyes half-open.

"I feel dizzy."

"It's no wonder," Hughes said softly. "C'mon, lean onto me, I'll help you."

To Havoc's great surprise, it didn't take long for the boy to get his outdoor clothes on. Hughes did everything else besides putting on jacket; he fastened the black scarf and tucked it inside the jacket and put an also black hat onto the yellow haired head.

Once they got out of the door to the empty corridor, there came a problem.

"He can't walk down all the stairs," Hughes pointed out, supporting Edward by his shoulders. The boy seemed to have lost all of his energy, and nearly fell down but the man's hold was steady. Havoc kept his eyes on the boy's face almost asleep figure and kept thinking about options.

"Elevator is out of the question also."

"Har har," Hughes mocked.

"Well," Havoc picked the boy up to his arms not caring about the older man's protests. "Stairs are excellent training."

They started their journey, Havoc first carrying Edward like bridal, the boy's head resting against his chest, and Hughes following him, carrying the suitcase.

"So," Havoc looked up to the older man as they had gotten down the first set of stairs and were once again in a corridor. "How are you doing?"

The question seemed to frustrate Hughes to no end.  
"Jeez, why does everyone ask that? I'm fine; really, it was just a little fainting!"

"Sorry, but I don't think that spending a week in a hospital can be considered as a "little fainting"."

Havoc would have made the quotation marks if he weren't in charge of the boy. Now he could only express them within his voice; how he loved to see that usually such a calm guy annoyed.

They made their way to the parking lot and soon Hughes's black car was visible.

"I'm amazed you are driving," Havoc commented when walking to the driver's side of the car.

"Do not start that. You can never understand how I feel; everyone expect me to drop dead!"

"My, you must feel awful," The younger man grinned as Hughes unlocked the doors. He placed Edward onto the backseat and made sure the boy wouldn't fall off. The child went on sleeping , not waking up during the process.

"Edo," Hughes leaned to the car through an open door. "I'll run by the Pharmacy, it's right on the route, okay?"

"Are you in need of medicines?"

Hughes could feel unease in Havoc's voice and smiled while shaking his head.

"Not me, they're for Ed. About those ghost pains. He used to have pretty tough, and the medicine a doctor gave him was not effective enough. It was horrible during those days. Then I wrote to that Aunt Pinako of his since _there is a little boy who can't tell his family about his worries," _Hughes said the last part of the sentence to the boy, his eyes on the figure which laying on the dark clothed bench.

Edward didn't answer but curled up a bit, trying to warm himself up. The dark haired man squinted his eyes with worry.

"I think we better go now," the man opened the driver's door and turned to look to Havoc. "I'll call you sometime, okay. Thanks for everything."

The addressed man waved his hand as the driver's door closed and the engine started. When the vehicle had driven to the road and was out of the sight, Havoc lowered his hand and remained standing looking into the horizon. Had it just been half an hour ago that Mary had called? Then he would have given anything to get a chance to meet the woman but now as it was possible... His thoughts were all about Edward; whether the kid was okay, and whether he was sad or just happy to be with his family again.

Havoc had to admit that the boy had been a good company and that his home would seem much emptier for some time. For a moment, he could really understand what it meant to be a parent. He had experienced the constant worrying and the feeling of helplessness but he had also been proud of the boy and enjoyed the time they had spent together; whether it had been talking or just hanging around.

Yeah, this whole thing had proved that he had what was needed to be responsible of a child and that he was ready for a permanent relationship that could even lead to marriage.

It was time to call Mary.

...

...

...

**Here is some Havoc/Edward brotherly moments for Dzem (by the way, go see her story Consolidated). **

**I used Celsius in this because we don't use Fahrenheit in my country. Let's just say 40 degrees is a very high fever while 37 is the border. **

**And that medicine is actually something I used to drink when I was a kid, and it tasted good! **

**Also, Mary name is in the honor of Mary Ingalls from _The little house on the Prairie_. She is such a beautiful girl.**

**I have actually seen a person faint once in my life, but two girls lifted her feet and she came to quickly. An hour later she was singing in front of a crowd.**

**Now I would be glad if you wold give me ideas for the next chaptr which is going to be pure Hughes/Ed parental (yeah, like you couldn't have guessed it already). Anything goes! And if you want, try to suggest the song that Edward was referring to. All I will say is that it is internationally famous and sung by a man. And I'm about to take my matriculation exam this September in Psychology and English. If anyone can give me hints of good studying techniques, I would be grateful!**

**Reviews are always welcome! **

**Goodbye for now!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I can't believe this. I bet no one is happier about this than I am. What did this take? One year and a half and the saddest part is that this chapter has been pretty much the same the whole time. I hope I haven't lost all of my reviewers during this long hiatus. **

**Now, thank you to all of my reviewers. The encouraging comments and friendly words kept me going with this chapter. Special thanks to Dzem for being a support, Fullmetal224 for all the fun that kep me going back to and extra-special thanks to Hyperthia for our long conversations that have unfortunately stopped due to lack of time. **

**Now, everyone may be wondering what took my time. I could make up excuses about school and work (which in a way are true) but the main reason why this chapter wasn't finished earlier is that everytime I began to write, I started listening to Sailor War. **

**I hope you enjoy!**

**...**

**...**

**...  
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Chapter 7

...

...

Setting sun painted the sky with different shades of orange and red. People were hurrying to their homes, eager to see their families and eat some decent food they had missed because of their work. Yellow and red leaves covered the pavement, once in a while being sent flying by the sweeping wind. The air was chilly and froze the lungs of someone who dared to breathe in too deeply. All in all, autumn had really struck now.

In a big, two storey house the two ladies of the Hughes's household were getting ready for bed. Gracia sat on the couch, clad in her red night gown. In her lap she held her two and a half year old daughter. The child had on her white pajamas which were decorated with sunflowers and stars.

The woman brushed Elysia's hair with a purple comb, making sure she got every knot open. Her left hand softly caressed the hair strands over which the comb had moved a moment ago.

"Now," she said softly while still going on with her task, "we'll go and brush our teeth. Then I'll read you a bedtime story."

"Can't Daddy tell me one?" The girl looked at her mother with her big, green eyes. Gracia felt her heart sunk by the disappointed tone on her daughter's voice.

"I'm afraid not. He has to look after your brother."

It wasn't literally true. Maes was now having dinner; Edward was sleeping peacefully in his room and didn't need immediate attention. The man had said he would be sleeping in the boy's room on the spare bed that was originally meant for Alphonse.

Elysia lowered her gaze to the floor and Gracia noticed that the lower lip began to quiver. The woman hugged the little girl close to herself in an attempt to wipe the sadness away. They had both missed Maes dearly during his stay at hospital. Elysia had had hard time trying to understand the reason for her father's absence from home; the girl had found questions for every explanation Gracia had come up with.

"How about I'll tell you two stories?" She said as her last resort.

Elysia sniffed and shook her head. "Three."

In a response, Gracia shook her head in turn but kissed the girls temple. Three stories would keep Elysia up too late.

"Let's agree on this: I'll read you two stories and sleep with you until you fall asleep."

The idea of being near to her mother lit a smile on Elysia's face and the little girl nodded eagerly. Gracia let the girl go and set her onto the floor. The woman watched her run to the hallway but soon the noise of tiny feet thumping to the floor vanished and was replaced by an excited cry.

"Nii-san, you're awake!"

racia rose to her feet and heard steps from the kitchen also; Maes must have heard the exclamation. She was sure they shared the same thoughts. Edward shouldn't be out of bed yet. On arriving at the house, they had taken the boy's temperature and agreed on complete bed rest. Edward had had no say in the matter.

Before she arrived to the hallway, Edward walked past her. The boy's steps were slow and his gaze was focused on something in front of him. Without caring about anyone else and their calls, Edward made his way to the coat rack and front door.

Maes was the first to go near the boy. As Edward took his red scarf from the pocket of his red winter jacket, the man took a hold of his automail shoulder to turn the boy's gaze to him.

"Edward, you can't go out," he said although he knew the boy wouldn't understand a word he was saying. The yellow eyes were unfocused and empty.

The boy tried to tie the scarf around his neck but failed miserably since Hughes's arm got in the way. The red cloth dropped from his shoulders but the boy didn't notice.

"I have to go home."

Hughes blinked at the desperate tone in the boy's voice.

"What do you mean 'home'?" He asked, placing his palms on Edward's scarlet cheeks to check the temperature.

"Home where Mom and Al are."

Hughes removed his hands from the boy's face: the fever had risen again. He assumed this was the fluctuation Havoc had talked about.

"Okay, be a good boy now," Hughes encouraged the boy as he wrapped his left arm around the boy's shoulders and forced him to lean into his touch. As his right arm found its position under the boy's knees, Hughes picked Edward up and began to carry him to the guest room.

"No," Edward shook his head but made no other movement, Hughes made sure of that. He pressed the boy's body against himself so that the boy couldn't move his limbs. Yet, that didn't hinder the boy's mouth from working.

"I need to go home. Mom is worried and Al is lonely. I want to go home," the boy went on saying those words like they were a magic spell that could change the world to his liking. Hughes shushed the child, trying to silence the quiet voice from which the fever and drowsiness had taken strength.

On stepping into the guest room, the man set the child into a sitting position on the bed and then laid him down onto the mattress. The flat surface underneath seemed to worsen the hallucination.

"I need to go home," Edward kept saying and was now turning his head from side to side. His limbs were also moving but in a different way. The flesh limbs grasped the air slowly and moved in a natural way for someone who was half asleep. The artificial limbs, automails, moved in the rhythm of spasms but, thankfully, the movement was very slight. Hughes remembered reading that the nerves could mistake the warmth caused by fever to nerve stimulations but that happened rarely.

To make himself feel useful, the man began to unbutton the boy's pajama top. Gracia had insisted on giving the boy fresh pajamas and put the one worn at Havoc's place to proper wash. For once, Hughes had disagreed with his wife and had tried to convince her that a simple outfit, a t-shirt and boxers, would be the best for boy. The feverish body would keep Edward warm enough on its own.

Soon the sweaty, dark blue pajama top was open. Hughes put his arm under the boy's back and lifted the body slightly off the bed, supporting the head with his shoulder. He tugged the outfit off the boy and threw it to the end of the bed.

Before starting to work with the trousers, Hughes decided to try to make the fever lower. On putting his hands under the boy's armpits, the man pulled the mixed metal-flesh body forward on the bed so that the boy's head was resting on the pillow. After making sure the fluffy cushion supported the boy's neck properly, Hughes knelt next to the boy's head and began to prepare a cold cloth for the forehead.

Gracia had earlier brought a basin full of cold water and some wash clothes to help to bring the fever down. Although it had been hours ago, the water was still relatively cold and would do more good than harm. Hughes picked up the earlier cloth by the bed; Edward had obviously dropped it on rising up from the bed. The man lowered it onto the desk beside the bed; since he had so many fresh ones, why use an already dirty pad?

The white cloth absorbed moisture and turned limp and chilly to touch. Hughes scrunched the wrapper in his hands to get the extra liquid from it. Some spilt onto the hard-wood floor but he didn't care. He assumed he would need to perform the same motion couple of times more as the night came.

When he thought the piece of first-aid equipment was satisfying enough, he folded it up into the form of a rectangle and placed it over the boy's brow. The cloth was a bit too big for the teenager; the gables came in touch with the boy's ears. Hughes gently moved some of the hair strands from the way of the wrapper and the still open eyes. Edward had stopped most of the motions on receiving the cold pad but his mouth was still working.

"You just can't be quiet," The dark-haired man shook his head amused and positioned his hands on both sides of the boy's face, covering the scarlet cheeks. The damp skin seemed to calm the child a bit as Edward leaned into Hughes's right hand and his eyes closed halfway.

The man encouraged the boy by talking in a softer tone.

"That's it, kiddo," He used the playful nickname he had given the boy. "Just go back to sleep. I'll take care of you."

It took a minute of soft words and caressing of the cheek but eventually, Edward closed his eyes and his breathing quieted down to that of someone in a relaxed state. Hughes kept his position a bit longer in case Edward decided not to fall asleep but the effort wasn't needed. The fever had taken a lot of the boy's energy and sleep was the exact thing his body yearned to fight the illness.

The man knew he ought to get the boy undressed but he couldn't bare himself to tear his eyes away from the sight. No matter what Hughes always told to his comrades, he didn't think his wife was the most beautiful sight on Earth. Sure, Gracia was the most beautiful woman he had ever known and pleasure to his eyes and other body parts but the most beautiful sight was this; a sleeping child. It was as simple as that.

Hughes had always thought himself to be special to have three so beautiful children in his life. Elysia was always cheerful and had inherited most of her looks from her mother. The man had no doubt she was going to grow up to be just like the woman he adored. Edward was, Hughes had noticed, exceptionally good looking for a teenager. The man had sometimes eyed the boys of Edward's age group but up to this day had not found a soul as elegant and perfect as his boy was. Of course Edward had his faults both in his body and character, but those never got as much attention as the good traits in him. Alphonse was a beautiful soul, always kind and polite and Hughes was sure that his looks had been and would be just as distinguishable as Edward's. On the day the younger Elric got his body back, Edward was sure to get a rival.

He was pulled away from his day dreaming by mumbling. Edward had placed his automail arm over his stomach instead of chest to gather cold from it but avoid being choked to death. Hughes gently moved the automail beside the boy.

"I'm sure you don't want to end up sick," he muttered under his breath and pulled the boy's pajama bottom off. The cloth was easy to remove but boxers nearly came off as well. The man took a hold of the hem and pulled the boy's underwear higher up so that his private areas weren't exposed. Hughes was sure Edward would be embarrassed if he knew anyone had to remove his clothing for him but the situation couldn't be helped. The boy would get sicker if he slept in damp clothes.

As he was satisfied with the boy's outfit, Hughes prepared another cold cloth and began to cool down other body areas. He began the task from head since he assumed that way to be the most hygienic. He wiped the scarlet cheeks with small circles and continued the movement as he trailed his hand to the neck. Hughes made sure the big arteries in the torso were cooled properly.

He used the same way to wipe sweat from the boy's chest but didn't use as much strength as before; He didn't want to halt proper breathing. Still, it was the easiest area to cool down.

Edward began to talk again but this time he could make out some words. The boy's voice was higher than usually as he kept talking. Hughes was pleased to hear that Edward no longer repeated the 'home' mantra, but seemed to be having a very strange dream. The boy would keep pauses between his lines as if there were more people than him in it. The man couldn't help wondering what Edward's dreams were like. Judging by the tone, this one was calm, maybe a pleasant stroll in the garden.

As he kept cooling off the body, Hughes smiled at himself; Edward deserved some rest without nightmares.

...

...

...

Edward slept peacefully but at midnight a worse torture came up: cough.

Hughes rubbed the child's cover clad back unconsciously; he needed to do something to feel useful. Edward was barely getting any sleep from his cough that caused him to either drink or nearly choke every ten minutes. The man wasn't able to leave the room at all and was now feeling tiredness as a woozy feeling in the head. His doctor wouldn't be happy; the otherwise kind older man had given him strict instructions to get enough rest and lead a healthy life. Hughes snorted: how could he lead a healthy life when his little boy was suffering?

Suddenly Edward let out a tiny cough and the dark haired man leaned forward and rubbed the back with a bit more force. The boy was lying on his left side to get his breathing flow better but so far it had brought only a bit of relief.

The man wrapped his left arm across the boy's head, both to lift it and keep the hair out of the way. His free hand took the glass from the bedside table.

"Come on," Hughes brought it to the boy's lips, making a tiny slip slide against the mouth; Edward stayed in his daze and the water slid down his jaw line.

The man frowned in worry; the boy's lips were dry and the skin felt as hot as a stove.

"Kiddo," he used the nickname that always got Edward's attention. This time was no different since the kid half opened his eyes and positioned his hands to support his body weight.

"You have to drink," Hughes kept the hands in place, adding authority into his voice. The boy opened his mouth and gulped down a mouthful of water. "Your body temperature needs to be lowered and it won't happen if you dehydrate."

The man wasn't satisfied and forced the boy to drink more. Edward became more and more conscious as each gulp poured down his sore throat. Finally, he had enough strength to force the glass away.

Hughes did as the boy wished and set the water filled item onto the bedside table.

"That's a good boy," he made his contentment clear and helped the boy lay down. He supported the boy's shoulders by wrapping an arm around them and carefully lowered the burning body onto the mattress. On his head meeting the pillow, Edward snuggled closer to the comforter and sighed contently.

As Hughes made sure the boy was lying so that he could breathe properly, Gracia stepped into the room, making sure she wouldn't disturb the boy. She opened the door slowly, as if to test the atmosphere there. First she saw that the room was almost dark; only the reading lamp was on. Then she saw her husband sitting on the bed, rubbing the small back in circles. His expression was thoughtful and the gaze of his yellow-green eyes was directed in the small boy sleeping on the bed.

"I called Havoc," the woman whispered to her husband, glancing at the boy on the bed. "He said Edward had hallucinations at nights."

"I don't know if I ought to be relieved or worried," The man said, his eyes not leaving the.

"How is he doing?"

The man turned his eyes onto her and ran a hand through his hair and stood up in frustration.

"Not better, not worse- the same," he whispered, straightening the covers on the boy although there was no need for such a thing. Edward was lying under a heavy blanket, breathing in small gasps. His face was covered in sweat, the cheeks were scarlet.

The woman walked closer and took her husband's place. Leaning over the thin frame, she put a hand on the sweaty forehead to test the temperature herself. Her eyes laid on her husband's appearance. The dark eyes were unfocused and the man rubbed his face to keep himself composed.

"You should get some sleep," Gracia whispered as she gently stroked the patient's cheek, trying to fade out the silent muttering. The words of concern started Hughes back to his senses. The man shook his head, trying to hide the pain.

"No, I'm just fine," he slumped into a simple chair next to the bed; all the sitting had made his legs partially numb.

"Maes, you're healing too. You need your rest."

"I said I'm fine, okay."

He didn't mean to snap but his voice got louder without him noticing it. The look in Gracia's eyes was not that of fear but of irritation. She was a strong woman; a few bitter words couldn't make her turn her head away. Instead, her face melt to the look of understanding.

"It is about it, isn't it?"

The man didn't answer but from the hard concentration on his face, Gracia knew she had hit the right spot.

"Edward forgave you."

"You didn't see it, Gracia," Hughes shook his head, his eyes on the sleeping boy. Gracia still caressed the burning skin with her cool hand the same way she used to calm baby Elicia down.

They were both so beautiful.

"You didn't see the look on his face; those eyes filled with fear."

"Maes, don't trouble yourself with it. We all lose our temper once in a while; we are only human. You aren't a violent person."

"I know that. It's just that I-"

His voice quieted away, his mouth couldn't find the words.

Gracia noticed the dilemma her husband was dealing with in his mind and gave him a reassuring smile.

"You love him."

She understood; they shared the same feeling. Hughes bit his lower lip to keep his emotions in check.

"More than life itself. I love him and Alphonse and Elysia all the same way. Yet, I still was able to-"

"You didn't want to. That's the point," The tone in the woman's voice was now harder; she needed to get this through to him. Still, stubborn as he was, Hughes wasn't about to let the issue lie.

"I keep telling Edward that I care for him the same way I care for Elysia and yet I snapped. He didn't even do anything wrong!"

Gracia nodded; she had never heard what had really happened between the two. Maes didn't have clear memories of the night; the spur of adrenaline had been so strong it had drowned all the voices. Yet, she knew her husband well enough to know that the only thing that could have made her loved one act in the slightest violent way was to see his loved ones in danger. Edward was a handful even for her, and she couldn't even recall the times she had sworn to what-ever Higher Power there was that the boy had been sent to them as a punishment. Not even her sweet words and calm attitude could get through the boy's thick skin.

"Maes, we have no experience of raising a teenager. We only have a baby girl and the methods we use with her don't apply with Edward! Of course there are going to be hardships and tears but you can't tell me there hasn't been a lot of laughter also."

"He cries because he misses his mother. He cries because he feels alone. He cries because he is going through an emotional rollercoaster," Hughes shook his head, a sad smile appearing onto his face. "I always keep telling him it will pass with time; he needs to let his sorrow out. Sometimes when he yells at you, you can tell he is feeling bad inside and needs a hug. Still, despite all that is happening, he manages to cheer me up every day."

Happy to see her life partner's mood improve, Gracia opened her mouth to share her memories of the boy in question but didn't get the chance because a sudden kick on the thigh interrupted her. Hearing his wife let out a sound of pain, Hughes stood up from the chair and hurried to the bedside, making sure it wasn't the automail that had hit her.

"My, my, aren't you having one vivid dream there," The man cooed as he leaned over the trashing boy and pressed the boy's arms with his hands keeping the body in place while Gracia nursed her injury. He didn't want Edward to fall out of the bed or end up hurting himself. Kneeling beside the struggling frame, the man kept avoiding the trashing limps and shook the boy a bit, trying to wake him up.

Finally, Edward's eyes snapped open but the look in them was far from coherent.

"Well, hello there," Gracia whispered in case speaking out loud hurt the boy's head. Edward propped his head up on the pillow, trying to keep his eyes on the woman and open. "Did you have a good dream?"

"No," the boy shook his head, words a bit slurred. "A wolf kept trailing me."

"What a bad wolf," Hughes shook his head, joining the weird talk. "What did you do to it?"

"Fell asleep."

"The sheets are all soaked up," Gracia touched the said cloth and guided her hand onto the boy's pajama. "So are his night clothes."

"I tried to get him sweat the fever away."

"It might have worked but he will just get sicker if he stays damp."

The man nodded in agreement, aware of the fact that the next stage had to be taken. As he cautiously got up the bed, making sure he didn't bump into Edward's legs, he looked at his wife in the eyes. The woman nodded understanding the wordless message and left the room.

As Hughes peeled the duvet off the boy, talking to him softly, he saw more light lit in the hallway. The boy seemed to sense what was going to happen since he started to refuse. The man whispered some soothing words, noting the youngster it was the only treatment they had yet to try.

He carried the boy to the bedroom in the bundle, trying not to care of the intense heat of the small body. Gracia was on her knees beside the bathtub that was filling with water. Her hand checked the temperature of the life-giving liquid and the other hand turned the cold water tap into more force.

"I think it's ready now," Gracia said as she dried her hands into the hand-drying towel. Concern filled her heart as her husband lowered their son onto the cold floor, and unbuttoned the smelly pajama shirt. The boy's body was pale due to autumn time that didn't allow much sunlight and not wearing many clothes. The light brown tan he had gained from their holiday in the summer was now long gone.

Hughes pushed the boy's upper body up from the blanket with his hands. Edward's head hung limply, the blond locks touching the floor. He positioned the body again and slid his arms under the boy's armpits so that he was now resting against his chest.

Gracia bent the boy's feet and, taking a stern hold of the knees. Without a word, the pair stood up and lifted their own remits. The woman gently placed the feet into the water as Hughes lowered the rest of the body in rhythm of the action. He kept his gaze on the boy's face, seeking for any reaction. Despite the fact that there was no sound, Hughes could feel the muscles become tenser as more flesh met the water.

At last the boy was in a proper bathing position. The surface reached the boy's torso and Hughes kept his hands under the boy's occiput, making sure no water got into Edward airways.

A whimper escaped the boy's mouth.

"I know it's cold, kiddo, but this is the best for you."

Meanwhile, Gracia had taken Elysia's bathing toys out of the closet. The brown basket contained various little buckets, some animal shaped sandpit moulds, couple of ships and a yellow bathing duck.

"Close your eyes and nose," Gracia advised as she chose red bucket and filled it with the bath water. Edward, awakened by the chilly water, did as he was told and a miniature waterfall traveled through his hair and drops ran down his cheek.

Filling the bucket again, Gracia locked her eyes on the ones of her husband, shaking her head with a gentle smile on her face.

"You don't need to do everything by yourself."

The words were merely a whisper and were meant for Maes only. The man in question turned his gaze away and watched as another downward wave hit Edward. The routine began there without any further agreements. Gracia did the work, Maes was the one supporting the creation, giving his silent support: healing Edward was like their family life.

They could do this together.

...

...

...

"_A dream_," Hughes read the hint in the crossword. He and Edward were lying on the Hughes's master bed. The boy was wearing his blue- striped pajamas and a wardrobe; the man wore a purple shirt and black slacks. Hughes had drawn his left arm around the boy, whose head was lying against the man's shoulder. The man's left arm held the magazine and right hand a pen.

Edward chewed his lower lip as he thought of the puzzler.

"Hallucination?"

"No, only," the man counted the amount, popping his pencil on every square there was, leaving a pebble mark," seven letters."

The boy became quiet and relaxed again into the human touch. The boy's breathing made the man's skin tickle even through the fabric and the slight fever warmed him up.

Two days ago Edward had come to his senses and from the morning of that day the sickness had slowly but surely began to fade. Fever had lowered considerably and the boy was coherent enough to have conversations and take care of his needs. Still, his throat was still sore, voice was down to the level where he had to whisper and on top of everything, his nose was running. Every few seconds there was a blow into a disposable tissue and Hughes was only waiting for the time Edward's nose would start bleeding.

The boy's eyes scanned the list of words, trying to find something he would know. He had never been the one for brain puzzlers but Hughes loved them. The man was the one who sorted the crosswords in the morning paper or at least tried to. Despite the fact that he wasn't the biggest fan of those, Edward had familiarized himself with the Hughes's second to favorite past time and had come to a conclusion: The crosswords in the morning paper were for geniuses. Of course, he was a child prodigy and he was sure Hughes's intelligence was above average but those traits hadn't gifted them with any mental capability to make any sense into those results of drunk scribbling.

The after effects of the autumn flue raised their heads and Edward let out a yawn, covering his mouth with his flesh hand. Maybe nap wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. He had all the preconditions for it; Hughes was warm as a radiator and the man's shoulder played the part of a pillow very well.

Yep, he was too comfortable to move anywhere for a while.

Before closing his eyes for good, his eyes found something that had to be shared. Hughes felt his heart jump in his chest as, out of nowhere, a flesh forefinger pointed out to the words and a high voice screamed into his ear:

"Look, there is my name!"

"Where?" Hughes' eyes looked around and then met the exact word: "Alchemist Edward –"

"Elric. Write Elric onto it."

"I know your name."

The rest of the words were too difficult. Hughes put the magazine away and yawned. The boy was also feeling weary. He had not been outside for days and the lack of fresh air was really affecting him.

Edward turned his head to the right, trying to find a better position. He breathed in through his mouth a few times: he could feel how all the glue was still in his throat, making the air turn into a gurgling sound. The boy brought his elbow in front of his mouth and let out a few wet coughs.

"I think it's time for your medicine."

Edward whined: "No, I don't like it."

"Medicine is not supposed to be tasty, candy is for that."

"Havoc had something that tasted very good."

"It doesn't seem to have had much effect."

Edward squint his eyes at the man but let the issue lay and neither Hughes brought it up again. They continued to lay on the bed, not able to sleep but too weary to stand up.

Edward wrapped the wardrobe tighter around his body. Gracia had insisted on cleaning the room now that Edward was well enough to leave the bed. The pair heard the woman sing quietly as she tried to make the room more suitable to stay in. The sudden lack of warmth hadn't affected his body at first but now he was feeling exhausted. The bones in his feet felt to have turned into ice and his back hurt.

Without a word, Hughes rose up to his hands and knees and pulled the covers from Gracia's side and sprayed them over the boy. The fluffy red duvet hid the boy under its protective cover and offered some much needed comfort.

"Are you warmer now?" He asked as Edward squirmed on the bed, trying to tie the cloth around himself as tightly as possible. The boy answered by giving the man a nod; he felt like he was lying inside a tight-fitting yet squashy sleeping bag.

"You know," Hughes tried to start a conversation, lying back onto the bed. His right arm was crossed behind his neck and his gaze was on the roof as if eyeing it in case anything was out of place.

"Havoc called us after you fainted."

"Havoc called you?" He repeated the point of the man's sentence and his mouth. He should have guessed the man would call the Hughes's the minute he noticed something was off.

Hughes nodded.

"I got really worried when I heard about it."

The tone in Hughes's voice drew him the boy guard. He couldn't remember if he had ever heard Hughes sound so… remorseful.

"Edward, I understand why you wanted to leave, I really do. It was the right decision for you to make but I-"

"Hughes, please, stop bringing it up," The child whispered from his hand-made cave. "We promised to start all over again."

"I know," Hughes shook his head; he remembered the agreement they had reached. Yet, those hospital times were so distant to him that he had hoped Edward had already forgotten about it. Hughes was more than happy and relieved to have the little boy he was so fond of living under his roof again but every time he looked at Edward, he saw the look of terror. He knew that deep down inside Edward was feeling the same way; they were only playing house. There was still too much between them. After something so unreal and unexpected, they couldn't just go back to normal even though they wanted it so badly. It would take time to regain the trust.

As Edward looked at him with those big, sincere eyes, Hughes felt even more depressed. How could Edward stand being so close to him? If his father had hit him, he would have developed remorse for the man. Yet, here the boy was just like he had always been. The boy was close to his body, probably closer than he could be without them moving into next stage; a thought at which he shuddered.

He rubbed the flesh shoulder; an act of love he had missed.

"I want to talk things over."

"But I don't. I'm not afraid of you; I want to stay here for good or," the boy shrugged," until I get my next assignment."

Hughes couldn't help a smile on hearing the honest words. Maybe the conversation would have gone on longer had the God not decided to make Edward cough his lungs out. Fast as if time would run out, Hughes peeled the tight cocoon inside of which Edward was resting and rubbed the boy's back with circles. Leaning his chest into his skinny thighs, the boy coughed into his fist and grimaced as salty slime filled his mouth. The Major next to him noticed the disgusted appearance and snatched a handkerchief from the box on Edward's left side.

"Damn that Havoc!" The mucus was spit out and the moist handkerchief thrown to a garbage bag. "This must be lung cancer!"

"Ed, I was about your age when I had this same kind of sickness. I had all the same symptoms: high fever and a cough that seemed not to go away. However, once I recovered, I've been right as rain for over ten years!"

"I only wish you're right," the boy sighed as he lay down onto the mattress once again. Yet, the position didn't feel quite right. Hughes lifted his eye brow as Edward squirmed on the bed as if he had just landed on anthill.

"Has it been bothering you much?" He stroke up another topic, crossing his arms across his chest. Edward froze still; he hadn't realized his movements were so discernible.

"A bit," The boy shrugged and bit his lower lip, "Only when I think about it."

He thought although he knew it wasn't good for him. Hughes had told him not to care about it and go on with his life like it wasn't even reality. Every time he thought about it he wished he was in a nightmare and would wake up to a life without another sorrow to bear.

His whole body shook as he thought about his situation.

"Creepy, isn't it?"Hughes nodded, sensing the boy's mental state. Edward only shrugged again and pulled the covers over himself, relaxing into welcome warmth,

They were quiet for a while, just enjoying the moment.

"You know," Edward started to fiddle the blanket with his fingers. "I might need new medication."

Hughes sat up, mattress bending under his weight. Concern written all over his face, the man squint his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I've had two panic attacks in less than a month. It's not healthy."

The man shook his head and lay down again. "Ed, there is no need to be worried. That phase in your life was so hectic it affected everyone."

Edward nodded but still he wasn't sure. It felt like Hughes was only trying to assure both of them.

The man seemed to read the boy's mind and immediately continued his explanation.

"What you need right now is clear day routines," the father lifted his hand the way he remembered the instructor had done in the First Aid class. "The medication is only a precaution. The most important thing is that you make sure your life is-"

"Scheduled?"

Hughes turned his dark brown eyes on the boy, harsh look in his face.

"No," he turned down the boy's mostly humorous suggestion. He could tell a joke but when it came to the health of his children, there was no room for anything but serious actions. "You need to avoid things you know to cause the attack. For example, you're allergic to milk so you avoid drinking milk. It really isn't that much more difficult."

"Hughes," Edward began to talk and after a series of coughs was able to continue. "Milk allergy and Panic Disorder are different. Panic happens in my head, there isn't really much I can do to avoid it."

His heart sunk a bit as Hughes sighed at the realization.

"It really hurts me to see you hurt, kiddo."

"How about I promise to try and keep myself calm and you make sure I keep that promise?"

Smiling at the suggestion, Hughes slid his arm under Edward's shoulder blades, drawing the covered body closer. The boy relaxed at the touch and listened to the man's heart beat.

"You're a good kid, Edo. A nuisance, yes, but in a good kind of way."

Annoyed at the wound disregard, Edward punched the man slightly with his flesh hand onto his chest. Soon enough, a larger hand smacked the still bedridden child on his upper arm. Forcing his body into half-lying position, Edward gathered his strength and gave Hughes even harder hit to the same spot. At the impact, the man sat up, wide eyes fixed on the wall in front of them.

Thrown out form his comfortable position, Edward got up to his knees from his heap on the bed and looked at Hughes, eyes yearning for explanation.

"What?" The boy said, worried he had hurt the man.

"Fantasy!" Hughes cried and snatched the magazine, shaking his head at his stupidity. "Way too easy!"

...

...

...

Day by day, Edward got most of his energy back. Finally, four days after the day he had come to his senses, he got out the first time. Still, even though the boy was running around as if nothing had happened, Gracia insisted on him staying mostly indoors. September rains had started and the last thing she wanted was the boy getting his feet wet.

The following day, Hughes and Edward went to market to fill their kitchen closets while Gracia stayed at home. She had some house work to do and on top of that, Elysia had gotten a slight flue and was sleeping in her room. Edward had no doubt contaminated her and the boy felt sorry for it; by spending two weeks lying down, he had finally began to value the time he spent awake.

"No, Ed."

The boy stopped where he was and lifted his head to meet the yellow-green eyes of his un-official guardian.

"What?" He asked innocently, lifting the yellow package even higher. "It's just some flow."

"You know what happens when you start baking," Hughes took the carriage and placed it back to the shelf. "Now, get some carrots."

The boy stuck his tongue out but nevertheless wandered to the vegetable area. The market was full of people, after all, it was the busiest time of the day. Trolleys full of goods passed each other and the whole place was very crowded.

Hughes checked the shopping list once more, pushing the trolley forward. The boy came back and dropped a plastic bag to the iron shelter.

"Hey," the man scolded the boy playfully, noticing the sulky expression. "What's the matter now?"

"Gracia always encourages me to make food but you just halt me."

"Edward, last time you cooked you burned your hand."

"But-"

"And when you baked those chocolate cookies-"

"Elysia kept me busy, she didn't-"

"-you let them burn and the whole kitchen reeked of smoke for a week."

Feeling his throat itching again, Edward slipped his automail hand into the pocket of his famous red jacket and fished out a small box of mints. Gracia had bought them for him the other day and it had been in frequent use. At first he had been too taken by the wonderful aroma to pay attention to the prescription and had spent the evening paying visits to the bath room. After some stomach medicine, a tall glass of water and a good night sleep his instinct to protect himself had woken up again and now he only sucked the almost-candies when his throat was really bothering him.

They got off the grocery section quite easily and without many disagreements. As they queued up for the cahs desk, Edward slowly began to move his legs every five seconds. Hughes noticed this and studied the face for any warning.

"You feeling dizzy?"¨

The boy got started by the question and shook his head, giving him a grinning face.

"No, I'm just fine."

Then he licked his lips.

Hughes kept his eye on the boy; usually, for those suffering from Panic Disorder, all places with lot of people were difficult. Most of the time all went smoothly in Edward's case but once in a while, the attacks came out of the blue.

The boy was licking his lips and swallowing frantically and the orbs of his eyes were almost covered by black. Hughes watched the scene carefully, pity filling his heart. He took a step forward and grabbed the boy's left shoulder by his right hand, squeezing it slightly.

"You can go outside, I'll meet you there. Don't push yourself too hard."

The boy looked at his eyes like a wild animal but then hurried outside, yet didn't run.

Hughes inspected what the boy was doing but at the same time concentrated on packing the goods into the plastic bags. Edward was leaning against the light lamp, facing the street, at least looking a lot calmer than before.

The man pushed his glasses higher and started to add in the vegetables.

Meanwhile, Edward tried to get his breathing down to normal. He wandered his gaze in the scenery of shops and people going by, trying to find something stable to concentrate on. Sweat emitted from his skin onto his brow and he could heel his armpits had gotten wetter and not from just normal perspiration activity.

Desperately, he unzipped his winter jacket a bit to cool his body off. Now that he was outside and breathing in fresh air, the panic began to fade and the feeling was replaced by embarrassment. How could he be so weak? He was supposed to be a Fullmetal Alchemist, a human weapon, and yet he couldn't even control his emotions.

Hughes had told him time and time again that Panic Disorder was not something he ought to be ashamed about. It was a condition he had to live with, it was no different than migraine or diabetes: it was based on his system and its tendency to react. Edward pressed his eyes with his gloved fingers, both to punish himself for his weakness and to block the disturbing thoughts.

Doctors had given him advice on ways to prevent and tend the attacks. The Hughes's had taken the orders seriously, an action for which Edward was secretly grateful. Most importantly, no one brought the subject up.

Still, despite all the effort Hughes, Gracia and Havoc had made to assure the boy that the Disorder would probably go away as he grew up and that many teenagers suffered from similar symptoms, Edward didn't find peace. He had checked the available information on receiving diagnosis and had found a description of Panic Disorder from a book on mental diseases.

He, Edward Elric, was mentally ill.

Removing his hands from his eyes, Edward took in a deep breath and let out a cloud of carbon-dioxide that represented all of his grief. He was fucked up already, so why worry over it.

The first glance in front of him and there it was. A person he hadn't seen in a week.

"What's he doing here?" The boy wondered out loud, snatching his clock that was hanging from the belt. It was only 2 PM, Havoc was supposed to be at work by all he knew. Every normal citizen ought to be working this early in the day; that was the reason Hughes had decided to go to the market at this hour.

Havoc couldn't be sick, Edward was sure of that. Despite the fact that the man smoked like a chimney, his immune system was iron. It was usually Mustang that brought in all the viruses. Besides, a black button-up shirt and matching black trousers weren't exactly sick day clothes.

Edward's eyes widened as the realization hit him: Havoc was with a woman. The boy was stunned by the appearance of Havoc's date. She sure was a beautiful woman: long golden hair and blue eyes. Skin was milky-white and the professional make-up just added to her beauty. She was wearing a red winter jacket and something black covered her legs. Edward wasn't sure if it were trousers or just a long skirt, it was difficult to see from afar.

"What are you looking at?"

Edward could only point his finger to the cafeteria and look at his un-official guardian with wide eyes. Hughes's gaze followed the direction; he was curious to find out what had taken away the boy's tongue. On seeing the couple Edward pointed at, his eyes widened.

"Is that Havoc?" He inquired, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Our Havoc?"

"I know!"

Hughes shook his head, a proud smile appearing onto his face.

"Wow, quite a catch, might I say?"

Edward nodded; he didn't really understand the concept of feminine beauty but, by what he knew, Mary presented every man's dream. Sure, she didn't have the same warm looks as Gracia and his mother but he supposed it was the point. Havoc's date was beautiful enough and made Edward feel a not-so-uncomfortable tingling in his crotch.

Suddenly, Havoc turned his gaze to the window and now the trio was having an eye-contact. Edward raised his hand and waved excitedly. Havoc merely just waved his hand, clearly not pleased to see him.

Hughes noticed the sheepish expression on the Second Lieutenant's face and decided to retreat. He lifted one of the grocery bags from the ground and forced the plastic handle of it between the boy's flesh fingers before the boy had a chance to protest. Supporting the sudden weight, Edward set his furious eyes to Hughes; he really wanted to see how things would go for his friend.

"Havoc's on a date, it's not our business what he does."

"I just waved at him."

Hughes lifted his hands in the sign of giving up and took his share of the goods, shaking his head mentally exhausted.

"We're going to have a long talk about discretion when we get back home."

...

...

...

"It's my turn," Edward muttered to himself and threw the dice. He hopped his player three steps forward and gave the number indicator to Hughes.

Since Edward had not grown in a family with both parents, he loved the entertainment Hughes and Gracia came up with. Usually, on Saturdays, before the lunch, the family would play a board game to spend some quality time with each other. The boy always felt moved when being a part of these situations. Times like these made him think of his mother and, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, his long gone father. Edward had no idea where the man was or what he was doing or whether he was even alive. He knew these questions would probably haunt him for the rest of his life but he tried to ignore them. He was happy now; with the Hughes's he felt loved and satisfied.

The ringing of the phone interrupted the game and all of the occupants felt their mood worsen.

Hughes stood up, stretching his arms high to the sky. "I'll go get it."

"Daddy, please come quick," Elysia looked at her father pleadingly. Hughes smiled and ruffled the girl's hair.

"I will, sweetie; you can play my turns while I'm on the phone, okay."

The girl nodded; she was proud that she had been given such an important assignment. Edward watched the man go to the living room and his thoughts began to wander again.

Hughes had offered him his services to find his father. Edward snorted in his mind; yeah, like that would have any effect. The military had been trying to hunt Hohenheim down for years. All honor to Hughes's intelligence and skills but it was very much unlikely the older Elric was ever going to be found. The man had probably moved to another country, or had drawn himself away from any kind of social contacts. There was even the slightest chance that Hohenheim had changed his name and was leading a new life somewhere else.

Edward clenched his automail hand into a fist; running away was the best answer to the problems, wasn't it?

"What do you mean you made a mistake?"

The ones remaining around the table got startled by the sudden raise in the voice. Gracia stood up and walked to the door that led to the living room.

"Maes," Gracia pleaded," you're on sick leave."

"This concerns the whole nation, Gracia," the man covered the receiver.

Edward got interested also. He got off his seat and soon felt a thug on his trouser leg. Elysia had gotten scared of her father's sudden mood change and wanted some comfort from her sibling. The boy picked the two-year-old up, bouncing her some to calm her down.

"Oh, you didn't understand the writing. Listen, that's the same kind of writing style you'll have to bear for many years in your life, even after I've retired. If you can't figure it out, you're not going to last for long."

Edward's eyes widened; he had never seen Hughes this mad. Usually the man was kind and polite to everyone: he had a good reputation among the cadets. Hughes was the kind of man who didn't yell but gave reasonable answers and corrected the mistakes with his experience. After all, the man always told Edward, one can only learn by making mistakes. The boy thought that was one of the reasons Hughes had such high hopes for him.

Now, while watching the scene, Edward assumed Hughes had changed his motto.

"I don't want to hear explanations, it's the actions we need. We need him arrested; the whole city is in danger, including you. So, if you care a shit about your life, you'll be more careful and you'll check everything before rushing and making the Military seem even worse in citizen's eyes. Good day!"

With that phrase, Hughes ended the phone call and slammed the receiver down. As he turned around, he saw Edward looking at him with an amazed gaze.

The man sighed but then gave a weak smile.

"I was good, wasn't I?"

"You were incredible!" Edward praised the Major as he picked his daughter up from the boy's arms. "Where did you learn that?"

"In the academy. There was a course called "How to be a believable commanding officer" and the most important thing was yelling."

Hughes sat Elysia back onto her seat and noticed Edward was still looking at him with those dreamy eyes. The kid was actually buying everything he said!

The man waved his hand lazily: "Just kidding, I have temperament also. It just can't be raised as easily as yours."

"Obviously," Edward nodded and then got the indirect insult aimed at him. "Hey!"

Hughes just ruffled the boy's bangs until they were out of order. Then he set his eyes on the game board again.

"Hey, I'm leading!"

Edward tried to get his hair back in somewhat presentable order and began to think of the words Hughes had said. The man had mentioned that Central was in danger, or so he assumed since Hughes had not mentioned the name of the place. Yet, as far as Edward knew, Hughes's cases only covered the crimes happening in his home town.

It seemed like someone had gotten out of jail; some dangerous prisoner was on the loose. Edward knew this wasn't the best place to start questioning man about the phone call since Hughes would never tell Gracia anything related to work. On top of all, Edward didn't know whether he was only imagining things, it seemed like Hughes gaze traveled in him more than was normal.

Edward took the dice on his turn and threw it. Something was going on and he was going to find out what it was.

...

...

...

The opportunity to affect the running events came the next day.

"Then the three bears came to the house. They walked to the table to look at their porridges."

Edward and Elysia were lying on the girl's soft bed. The boy had a fairy tale book in his hands which he kept reading with a smooth voice that calmed the girl down. Sniffing and licking some of the snot from her upper lip, Elysia curled closer to her brother, pressing her head onto his automail shoulder. She didn't care of the cold metal; Niisan was there and that was all that mattered.

"The Father Bear said: "Someone has been eating my porridge!""

The girl got startled by the statement. In her opinion, Edward was the best story teller in the world. He could change his voice so well and play various different characters. On playing a threatening bear, he lowered his voice and added volume to it. On playing Mother Bear, he kept his voice gentle but curious. It was the same way Elysia's mother used when she noticed someone had eaten chocolate from her candy box.

"Edward! Elysia! Come downstairs!" Hughes's voice carried from the bottom of the stairs.

"And the Three Bears ate Goldilocks. The end!" Edward ended the story abruptly, pressing the impact by slamming the book shut.

Elysia got up to her knees and pressed her hands on both sides of her waist and gave the boy a challenging look.

"That's not how it ends!"

Edward placed the book down on the girl's white wooden night table and fast as a lightning grabbed his so-called sister by her middle and hoisted her over his shoulder.

"That happens in Niisan's world."

He slapped the girl's bottom a few times to emphasize his point and made his way to the living room. With each step Edward took down the stairs, Elysia giggled uncontrollably, enjoying the effect of gravity. Her short arms wailed around and tried to grab the air.

She loved to be the young one because it meant everyone would pick her up: her parents, brothers and uncles. Everyone was always ready to give her the sensation of being able to fly. Moreover, she loved the tender holds; it was one of the things that made her feel important. To her, kisses and hugs were the best things in the world along with sweets and kitties.

"Mommy, look!" Elysia called out; she wanted to have audience as she entered the living room with style. Against her and Edward's wishes, the usually calm woman was not pleased with the show they were putting on.

"Don't tear her about like that," Gracia snapped and snatched her daughter from the boy despite the girl's protests. "She hasn't eaten anything today and seeing the way you handle her, I'm not surprised."

Without saying another world, the woman walked to the kitchen, obviously to try to give the child her medicine.

Hughes was lying on the couch and dressed in blue button up shirt and jeans.

"What do you want now?" The boy asked and leaned his body into the door frame. Hughes shifted a bit in his place and twisted his neck to look at the boy.

"Does it always have to be something?" The man gave an answer Edward had been expecting. It was probably Hughes's nature that he kept yearning for social contact.

The youngest State Alchemist pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice frustrated and yet apologetic.

"Look, I'm awfully busy. This whole sickness and working as Mustang's mail boy has caused me to fall far behind my schedule."

"You have a schedule?" Hughes blinked incredulously.

"I and Al agreed on both of us doing research but on different things. I'm very behind in my own area; I have no idea how I'm going to catch up."

"You'll figure something out, kiddo, I know you will. You're a bright boy."

Hughes's voice was filled with such honesty Edward rarely heard from the man. Sure, Hughes kept giving away compliments like they were candy but there was always explicit tone change in his voice when he said something that he meant form the bottom of his heart.

"Besides, if you need any extra help," the man gave Edward his signature two finger salute," you know where to find me."

The simple gesture was all that was needed to relieve some of Edward's stress.

"In the meantime, I need you to go to my office and fetch a green folder from the top drawer in my desk."

Edward feet took him to the said destination like they had a will of their own. It was a good thing since the instructions demanded much of his energy.

Hughes's office was in the basement as a separate room. It wasn't any bigger than any other room in the house but it was clear Gracia had no access there. As Edward opened the door and took a quick glance around, he had to shake his head; even his bedroom was cleaner than this area.

The bookshelf was full of documents and those that didn't have room in it ended up in piles onto the floor. Separate papers were everywhere and maps had been opened and left lying around. It was nearly impossible to walk in the room without stepping on anything important. Edward didn't wonder why Hughes spent so much time at work even when being at home.

The only lamp was on the desk. Searching through various sharp objects and minding his fingers the boy finally came across the switch and lighted up the room. The dim light didn't give the room any more hospitality. In fact, it reminded Edward of the interrogation rooms he had visited the time he had been helping Hughes in Investigations.

The boy knew that, for some odd reason, Hughes had it easier to think when it was dark. He couldn't even count the times he had been woken up by the parents talking in their room with Hughes writing up something important and Gracia trying to make her husband forget about work. Now, as Edward squint his eyes to try and find what he was looking for, he thought the man would be lucky if he still had his sight when retiring.

After five minutes of search, the file in question had been found with a scream of triumph and the boy practically jumped back to the living room, glancing through the papers to get some idea of the work Hughes was referring to. His disappointment was grave when he found the file to contain documents about office supplies.

"Is this it?"

Hughes stretched his hand to take the file. He checked the name and nodded.

"Now," the man gave the folder back to the boy and put his hands behind his neck, making himself comfortable. "Go and take that to Headquarters to that sorry excuse of an officer."

Surprised by the phlegmatic response, Edward opposed the decision: "Why won't you take it?"

"I'm on paid sick leave. Why would I miss any second of it by doing work?"

Startled at the uncharacteristically self-indulgent response, the boy stormed to the coat rack and snatched his red winter jacket after a reminder from Gracia about the chilly autumn air and his recovery time. As he was about to leave, a voice came from behind him.

"I'll treat you to ice cream," Hughes said while leaning onto the door frame. "Any flavor you like."

Edward only nod repeatedly and shut the door.

...

...

...

"It's nice to have you back, kid."

Edward grinned at himself for Havoc's words as he rummaged through the drawers. On his arrival, the boy had realized the doors to the Investigation Department were locked and since no one had come to open, he had had to go to Mustang's office and ask Falman for a spare key. The elderly man had been quite reluctant at the request; after all, that section of the Headquarters contained valuable and confidential information not for every-man's eyes. Even after Havoc had offered to go with the boy and thus make sure the young alchemist would keep his hands from everything that was not for him to know Falman had had thoughts but after many promises and some charming skills from Havoc, the man had eventually agreed but with a deadline by which the key had to returned.

Havoc fished a cigarette box from his pocket and took out a tobacco that was next in order.

"Things get pretty boring when you're not around to make a mess."

The man followed the boy's actions with his eyes and breathed in some smoke. As he exhaled through his mouth and nostrils, the strong smell got to the boy's lungs, irritating the still sore tissues. Taking his hands from between the files he was inspecting, Edward drew his left palm in front of his mouth and began to cough. It was the same kind of hacking Havoc remembered hearing during the time Edward had been his patient. He made an attempt to crouch down to rub the jacket-clad back but Edward raised his right hand, indicating him to back off.

"Sorry, but I already have difficulties breathing," the boy managed to breath out as he took in big gulps of air, trying to settle the cough down.

"I understand," the man nodded, once again slipping a hand into his pocket. He placed a box of breath mints on the table, answering the boy's curious glance by a nod.

Havoc straightened up, giving the child one last concerned look before he trudged off to wait for the child outside.

Yet, as Havoc was about to disappear from his sight, Edward suddenly remembered the scene he had witnessed the other day.

"Who was that woman I saw you with?"

At the question, Havoc literally stopped in his track. The man turned around with a smile on his face.

"Just a friend of mine," he teased, perfecting the carefree appearance by shrugging. Edward, however, took none of it. He knew Havoc was only joking and felt somewhat betrayed not to have been told about the latest encounters in his closest friend's love life.

"Don't lie to me," the boy crossed his arms, putting on his best sneaky smile. "You looked like you could eat her instead of that mousse."

It took a moment for Havoc to give a proper answer. Standing there like that, the boy looked ready for a modeling shot. The man had sometimes played with an idea of making Edward a photographing model. The boy had distinct features and he assumed Hughes's obsession had given the boy lots of practice.

"Fine, if you really insist," he finally gave in but couldn't help inhaling the toxic gas again. "Her name is Mary and we're dating."

"Is she a model?"

_You bet she could be, _Havoc replied in his mind. Edward was not the first to make the mistake; Breda had assumed the same as he had shown him her picture. Havoc really though such a beautiful woman was just wasting her talent when not embarking on an exciting journey in the model world. Mary could make a fortune just by letting advertisers use her eyes as bait.

"No she is a really intelligent woman. Works as a lawyer and thus earns more than I do."

"Hey, you can become a stay-at-home dad!"

Havoc laughed at the spontaneous idea, trudging out of the room.

"Yeah, forget all about your career! From shooting criminals to changing diapers."

Edward laughed at the joke and continued to search for the right spot.

Many people didn't know it but Havoc wasn't only interested in looks. Sure, the bachelor appreciated outer beauty and superficial needs but most of all, he wanted to find a soul mate. When he was living with Havoc, Edward had had many meaningful discussions with the man and not just about him and his issues regarding Hughes but also about Havoc and his desires. The man had sort of made him his confident, the one to whom he could reveal his insecurity and need for a partner.

Havoc was a good man; there was no doubt about it. If Edward were to choose with whom of the office men he would share his life with, he would choose his friend in a heartbeat. It wasn't as though Breda and company weren't nice and smart and altogether wonderful people but Havoc had something unexplainable in him. That special trait attracted people from various ages, social classes and backgrounds.

While pondering about his friend, something oddly familiar passed his vision. Trailing back with his forefinger stretched out, the boy pushed the fore files away to take a proper look at the mystery in front of him.

It was simple white map but on the nametag it clearly read _Edward Elric._

The boy's eyes widened in interest and he hesitated. Falman had strictly told him not to look at anything but to return the file Hughes had given him. Otherwise he would be in lot of trouble for disobeying Military Regulations.

Still, the curiosity got the best of him and he took the file. He opened it and leafed through the papers. He found his physical tests, State Alchemist Exam results and some random reports from more important missions. Then he found one note that was clearly written by Hughes. The man seemed to have pondered his words very carefully: the handwriting was not of the usual flying, impossible to read style but one of smooth letters.

Edward checked once more that Havoc was not near and began to read.

_26__th__ August, 1915_

The boy frowned; by that time, he had been living with Havoc.

His eyes scanned the sentences and his brain processed the new found information. As he got further, rage set in and his flesh hand began to shake.

"That bastard!"

**...**

**...**

**...**

**I am a bad girl, leaving a cliffhanger. Want to bet it takes three years to write the next chapter XD**

**Also, some promotion for my other stories:**

**Father's love need more love, and Aftermath portrays how Edward deals with Nina's death and Barry the Chopper incident (I ought to update that next). And Stick to Your Status is a short humor fic. **

**I have also done some minor changes to the earlier chapters. It's mostly about correcting some spelling mistakes and some other faults that have been irritating me or made me laugh when I read the chapters again. Never trust my grammar to be perfect.**

**Reviews... they will be read with a sincere heart.  
**


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